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The Rise of the Professional Gardener

in Nineteenth-Century Devon:
A Social and Economic History

Submitted by Rosemary Clare Greener, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the

degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History, April 2009.

This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material

and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper

acknowledgement.

I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and
that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree

by this or any other University.

Abstract

From the middle of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the First World War was

the hey-day of the professional gardener. However, time has eroded the memory of
these men and many of the gardens where they worked have disappeared or have been
radically altered.

Most garden history has been written from an artistic or design perspective. No-one has
studied the lesser head gardeners who worked in British gardens and estates, nor has
there been a county study such as this which considers the working lives of gardeners
from a commercial and practical point of view. Yet research using contemporary
documents, such as the census and estate records, suggests the number of working
gardeners increased significantly throughout the nineteenth century. Private gardeners
worked in growing numbers of middle-class villa gardens, or for estate gardens which
had returned to formal planting and mass bedding. Nurserymen contributed plant
material to support garden owners' aspirations and ambitions to purchase the newest

imports or fashionable hybrids and to furnish glasshouses and arboreta. Market
gardeners supplied fruit, vegetables and flowers to satisfy the demands of a society
which had changed from being largely rural to predominantly urban and began to

specialise and produce for long distance markets.

Working gardeners were compelled to change their practices and products in order to
accommodate scientific advances which fuelled a rise in interest in gardening across all
classes of society. As the century progressed it became harder for a garden labourer to
attain the position of head gardener. Increasingly, it was a man with some education
who underwent a gruelling apprenticeship and training to reach the top of his
profession. Different branches of the trade had their own hierarchy led by nurserymen at

the top, jobbing gardeners and labourers at the bottom. This thesis discusses the growth

of professionalism of gardeners and concludes that practical training was insufficient for
success; self-education, determination, experience of a wide variety of gardens, good

management skills, and sometimes luck were needed in order to succeed.

List of Contents

Page

List of Figures 4

Abbreviations 6

Acknowledgements 7

Map of Devon 8

Introduction 9

Part One: Private Gardeners: Gardening as Employment

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century: Change in the Garden and how it 33
Affected the Gardener

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part': Mobility of Gardeners,

Physical and Social 55

Chapter Three: 6 Of Operators and Serving Gardeners' 99

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener 148

Part Two: Commercial Gardeners: Gardening for Profit

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners 194

Chapter Six: The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon 242

Conclusion 297

Glossary: Money and Measure 306

Appendix I: Gardener Database 307

308

Bibliography

List of Figures

Page

Figure 1:1. Plan of flower garden for Kitley by Sir Francis Chantrey c 1 83 1 40
Figure 2:1. Known birthplaces of gardeners who worked in Devon during

the nineteenth century

Figure 2:2. Known birthplaces of different classes of gardeners 59

Figure 2:3. The number of places in which head gardeners in the sample are

known to have worked in addition to their parish of birth 60
Figure 2:4. Movement of some gardeners who trained in Devon 62

Figure 2:5. Wages per week excluding perquisites 64
Figure 2:6. 'Wanted' advertisements

Figure 2:7. Characteristics required and offered in the provincial press in

order of popularity

Figure 2:8. Title page of Loudon's Self-Instruction for Young Gardeners 83

Figure 3:1. Comparison of increase of domestic gardeners, market

and nurserymen in England and Wales with numbers

in Devon

101

Figure 3:2. Comparison of increase in population between England and 101

Wales and Devon 1841 to 1891

Figure 3:3. Percentage of private gardeners by age 1800-1899 103

Figure 3:4. Wording on cautionary notice board at Bicton 106

Figure 3:5. Women gardeners by age from 1851 census 1 1 1

Figure 3:6. Plan of the Young Gardeners' House at Wimbledon Park 1 19

Figure 3:7. Average daily wages of garden staff paid per decade in Devon 122

during the nineteenth century

Figure 3:8. Comparison of men's wages in shillings per week 123

Figure 3:9. Rules hung in tool room at Chatsworth 129

Figure 3:10. Rules and Regulations of Bicton Plant Department 130

Figure 3:1 1. Rules and Regulations of Bicton Kitchen Garden 131

Figure 3:12. Green' s Garden Engine
Figure 3:13. An aphis brush

133
139

Figure 4:1. Comparison of number of head gardeners working in Maristow 152

and Escot gardens throughout the nineteenth century

Figure 4:2. Sample of instructions sent backwards and forwards with 156

produce between Coombe family concerning the administration
of Earnshill household and gardens and the Ilminster estates

Figure 4:3, Percentage of gardeners accommodated by garden owners 161

Figure 4:4. Salaries paid to head gardeners in Devon in the nineteenth 165

century

Page

Figure 4:5.

Page from David Smith's Kitchen Garden Account at Saltram

1822

171

riguxc H.U.

rruuuie auppncu to uie KiLLiicns di rjicion riouse oepiemoer

1 HI

1842

raiiicid piuicabiuiib in pciLcuiages ior aii gdiueners wnere

loD

known

Figure 4:8.

Fathers' professions in percentages for head gardeners where

186

Known

Figure 5:1.

Some examples of market gardeners with dual occupations

198

Figure 5:2.

Crops grown by Joseph Turrill of Garsington

203

1 iPvnn tn^rVpt ctshyiati ci/^tv^jut^

i-'vVUll lllalJvCl gcUUCIl dVlCa^C

919

Figure 5:4.

Market gardeners renting land from the Earl of Devon

213

Figure 5:5.

Table of tolls for produce shipped within the Manor of Kenton

214

(1894)

Figure 5:6.

Rents for market gardens in Devon

217

Figure 5:7.

Cornish shovel

219

Ficnire S*8

St DnminirV onrHfMiprc: nnH nunnpt mnVprc: 1 8R1

991

Figure 5:9.

Occupations of Devon market gardener's wives

232

Figure 6:1.

Numbers of nurserymen and florists working in Devon 1841 to

245

1881 compared with those for England and Wales

Figure 6:2.

Distribution of nurseries in Devon by date of establishment

246

Figure 6:3.

Breakdown of number of nursery gardeners identified

249

Figure 6:4.

Plant list for Endsleigh tree nursery 1815

257

Figure 6:5.

Handbill of James Sclater of Heavitree

273

Figure 6:6.

Work done at Buckland Abbev nurserv 1 800 to 1 80^

ill

Figure 6:7.

Work done at Thomas Nicholl's Nursery, Redruth

278

Figure 6:8.

Number of staff employed by nurserymen

283

ABBREVIATIONS

AgHR

Agricultural History Review

77ie Agrarian History of England ana Wales

Country Life

^""1 T\

CRO

Cornwall Record Otiice

Devonshire Chronicle

DRO

Devon Record Oitice

Devon Weekly Times

EcHR

Economic History Review

EFP

Exeter Flying Post

Gardener s Gnronicle

Garden History

GM*

Gardener s Magazine

JRASE

Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England

m t to

JRHS

Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society

NCCPG

National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens

NDRO

North Devon Record Office

Parliamentary Papers

PRO

Public Record Office

RHS

Royal Horticultural Society

PWDRO

Plymouth and West Devon Record Office

SRO

Somerset Record Office

* This is the abbreviation for J. C. Loudon's Gardener's Magazine (1826-1843).
Shirley Hibberd's Gardener's Magazine (1862-1882) has been typed in full to

distinguish between the two.

Conventions

Modem place-name spellings of parishes have been used throughout. Spellings of
individuals' names have also been standardised to avoid confusion.

Acknowledgements

A project such as this would not have been possible without the help of a large number
of people. I would like to thank the staff at The Plymouth and West Devon Record
Office, North Devon Record Office, West Country Studies Library, Exeter University
Library, Devon County Library, Devon and Exeter Institution and especially to the
Devon Record Office whose staff have hunted for and patiently carried forth volume
after volume of material.

Thank you also to the archivists at the Clinton Devon Estate Archive, Powderham

Archive and Enville Hall Archive and at Essex Record Office, Cornwall Record Office
and Somerset Record Office.

The help, encouragement and unfailing support of friends and colleagues has been
essential and I would like to thank fellow students at the University of Exeter especially
Pamela Richardson and Geoff Doye. Thank you to my colleagues especially committee
members of Devon Gardens Trust and Friends of Devon's Archives.

Thank you to friends and a trusted support system who offered practical help and made
constructive comments. In particular I would to thank Dr Todd Gray for the loan of
books, Margaret Reed for help with research in North Devon, Carolyn Keep for sharing
her extensive knowledge of Devon gardens. Thank you to all those who have helped
with proof-reading. Many others who have given invaluable help shall be nameless, but

I hope they will know who they are.

A special thank you to Mike Duffy for his patience, good humour and constructive help.

And last, but not least, thank you to my family, especially to Bill to whom this thesis is
dedicated, who encouraged the beginning of the project but was, sadly, unable to see its

completion.

Map of Devon showing gardens discussed in text

Source: Adapted from English Heritage, Register of Parks and Gardens of special historic
interest in England: Devon (1987),

INTRODUCTION

A gardener, to be one at all in the true acceptation of the term, must be a man of
intelligence. 1

From the beginning of the nineteenth century gardening became an increasing part of
the ethos of society, embodying scientific knowledge, respectability, healthy activity,
productive work and family values. Ownership of a garden offered the potential for
supplies of staple and luxury food, flowers for decoration, and, for those with sufficient
wealth and free time, a place for leisure activities. A garden also demonstrated the status
and education of its owner and reinforced his or her position in society and became 'a
pleasure for the intellect as well as for the senses 5 . 2 By 1881 Henry Bright had noted:

Never, perhaps, was the art of gardening so popular... as at present. The st
homes of England, the villas that line the roads of suburban districts

cottages clustering round a village green, often even a back yard window-s
the heart of some manufacturing town, all testify in their different ways t
desire of havine an adornment of flowers. 3

In the new, wealthy and rapidly expanding Victorian consumer society, many gardens
were created, the construction and maintenance of which provided work for thousands
of men and women from the head gardener at the top of his profession to the lowly
boys, girls and women employed to weed, water, pick stones or collect caterpillars from
cabbages and gooseberries. A commercial industry also burgeoned with nurserymen and

market gardeners dedicated to the provision of rare and exotic species, to mass

production of thousands of bedding plants, and to the supply of a wide variety of fruit
and vegetables to feed a growing urban population.

Official census figures show that the number of gardeners in Devon had increased by
147 per cent in the period from 1851 to 1891 (see Chapter Three). 4 One factor which led
to this growth was the number of newly built villas in urban areas of the county and
particularly in tourist towns such as Dawlish, Teignmouth, Sidmouth and Torquay.
These provided holiday homes for the wealthy, a retreat for retirees and somewhere for
the sick to benefit from the restorative properties of the sea. Improved roads and, from
the late 1840s onwards, a widespread rail network, encouraged the growth of the

nursery trade in Exeter and Plymouth and the expansion of the market gardening
industry.

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there was a rise in professionalism of

the increased numbers of gardeners within the county; to identify individuals and

discover how much, if at all, their working practices differed within the industry. In
order to find out how working conditions and practices changed throughout the century,
questions were asked as to whether or not a gardener was paid for overtime, when did
he gain the right to paid holidays, and was it better financially and for stability to work
in a larger garden or a smaller establishment? How critical was it for a gardener to be
educated? Was education rewarded in pay or status and, in a predominantly rural
county, was gardening a way, as Loudon suggests, to elevate status above that of an
agricultural worker? 5 Did gardeners have any time for hobbies and leisure time
activities? If they did were they connected with work, for example growing show plants,
or something entirely different? How much security did a gardener have and what
happened to him when he became ill or when he retired? What advantages and
perquisites, if any, kept a gardener gardening?

Within this thesis gardeners are defined as those who gardened for a livelihood whether
employed or employers. Included are garden labourers, apprentices, journeymen and
head gardeners who worked in private gardens. There were also many men who worked
in public parks, hotel gardens, market gardens and nurseries. The study included self-
employed jobbing gardeners and those who gardened as a secondary occupation.
Garden owners who gardened for a hobby are excluded. This is another subject and one
that has been discussed by Anne Wilkinson in The Victorian Gardener? The scope of
this study encompasses the commercial sector as well as private gardens and contributes
to the growing interest in the lives of the working class as well as that of the lower

middle class.
Historiography

Without the expertise of career gardeners and garden labourers it would not have been
possible to create and maintain the gardens of the nineteenth century, nor to import,

hybridize and propagate so many of the exotic plants and flowers which we now take
for granted. Yet it is rare to read about the contribution of this largely unknown group of
men and women. Traditionally, most garden history has been written from an aesthetic
perspective about atypical but well-known gardens, garden owners or designers. 7 These
studies of the rich, the famous and the influential, include people who made significant

Introduction

contributions to garden fashion throughout the nineteenth century such as Humphry

Repton, landscape gardener, John Claudius Loudon, garden designer and prolific writer,

Joseph Paxton, head gardener at Chatsworth, and, at the end of the century, Gertrude
Jekyll and William Robinson who were both part of the 'arts and craft' movement. 8
However, as Martin Hoyles states 'there is a marked division of labour between those
who did the mental work of design and those who carried out the manual work of
construction'. 9 Practical gardeners, even those who used their knowledge and

experience to manage teams of workers to maintain a garden on a daily basis, are
frequently ignored. To date there have been no county studies of the gardening industry,

nor a comparative work on gardeners across a region or within the profession. There is
also very little written about the lives of working gardeners in the nineteenth century,
especially those who worked in the commercial sector. These were, as Jim Sharpe

wrote, 'men and women whose existence is so often ignored, taken for granted or

mentioned in passing in mainstream history'. 10

In recent times the focus of garden history has begun to widen. Social historians Charles

Quest-Ritson and Jane Brown consider the motivation which drove people to create,
maintain or change their gardens, from the impact of scientific studies to flaunting their
wealth by encouraging garden visitors. 11 Economics and fashion dictated design
decisions, but Joan Morgan and Alison Richards have shown that the influence of head
gardeners was far-reaching. Those who worked in some of the more important gardens

became innovators, adapting new materials and technology to become authorities on,

and fashion leaders for garden design; their influence was so great that they even
dictated what food was grown and eaten.

Harold Perkin maintains that professional men were defined by their expertise,
theoretical knowledge and intellectual training which included the 'testing of
competence'. These requirements were essential as technology improved and new
imports of plants flooded the market. Writing in 1 826 John Loudon had assumed a
career gardener would have had a basic education and that his gardening skills would be

taught as part of his apprenticeship, but he also believed in improving the

professionalism of gardeners through self-education, echoing some of Humphry

Repton' s ideas that gardeners needed knowledge of many subjects and social skills in

addition to their horticultural expertise. 14 He encouraged young gardeners to study in
their own time and wrote;

Introduction

...it is not our intention to invite or court the young gardener to cultivate his
intellectual faculties, but rather to point out to him the absolute necessity of
doing so, if he wishes to maintain any higher station than that of a country
labourer. 15

However, gardeners, even head gardeners, in many cases worked in isolation which
meant they did not form or become part of a professional body which restricted entry to
the qualified. In other professions such as architects, doctors and lawyers, these
organisations were designed to consolidate the reputation of their members and
guarantee 'an appropriate remuneration for their work.' 16 Without this protection,
gardeners were frequently poorly paid. Loudon, one of the most influential garden-
writers of the nineteenth century, sought to address this issue. He believed strongly that
gardening should and did break down social barriers and that there was a place for some
form of garden in almost everyone's life. His work, which included The Encyclopaedia
of Gardening and The Suburban Gardener, ran to many thousands of words, and aimed
to teach professional gardeners, garden owners and middle class amateurs all aspects of
gardening. All his life Loudon campaigned for better housing, pay and working
conditions for young gardeners declaring, 'how masters can expect any good service

from men treated worse than horses, it is difficult to imagine 5 . 17

In his capacity as editor of the Gardener 's Magazine, Loudon passed on facts and
practical advice, and informed his readers of recent innovations and new plant
introductions. Most importantly, he gave working gardeners an opportunity to
communicate with each other, and the world in general, by contributing to the journal

by letter or through submission of articles. Most contributors were head gardeners from
well-known gardens. These included Devon gardeners Robert Glendinning and James
Barnes of Bicton, John Nash from Arlington Court and Herman Saunders from Kitley. 18
Few under-gardeners used the medium of journals to communicate or leave records
unless they were making a complaint, and those that did wrote anonymously using
initials or pseudonyms, such as 'R.S.' and 'M.T.' in The Gardener or 'A young
Gardener' and 'A Practical Gardener' in the Gardener's Magazine. 19

The role of the gardening press of the nineteenth century should not be under-estimated.
Self publicists and articulate gardeners with time to write, ensured that some head-
gardeners became household names and has made it possible to identify some of the
better known men and their preoccupations and specialities. For this reason head

Introduction

gardeners have been written about more than any other branch of the gardening

profession. Toby Musgrave describes head gardeners as the 'forgotten heroes' of

gardening. He has traced back the traditions of gardening, but missed the opportunity to
look at lesser known head gardeners. Instead he devotes one chapter to the atypical
career of Joseph Paxton and another to James Barnes, who for almost thirty years was
head gardener at Bicton, one of the most prestigious gardens in Devon and the United
Kingdom during the nineteenth century. 20 Barnes became well-known to
contemporaries through his letters in the gardening press, his appearances at
horticultural shows throughout the country, and by winning a notorious libel court case
against his previous employer Lady Rolle. This, arguably, changed for all time the
dynamics between head gardeners and their masters. 21

During the early part of the nineteenth century, the lower maintenance landscape parks
constructed during the eighteenth century had given gardeners an opportunity to
concentrate their skills on obtaining knowledge of imported trees and flowering shrubs
which were flooding into the country, and time to breed new varieties of fruit and

22 •

vegetables. Brent Elliott argues, however, that it was the reintroduction of flowers to

gardens that led to the rise in status of the head gardener. Previously, a gardener's only
chance for fame, he maintains, would have been in the kitchen garden cultivating new
varieties of fruit. He discusses the many contemporary theories of garden design, based
on the writings of some Victorian head gardeners such as brothers Robert and David
Fish, Robert Glendinning and Shirley Hibberd. 23 He suggests that it was when bedding
out became fashionable as a method of displaying brightly coloured plants such as
verbenas, geraniums and calceolarias, that the gardeners came into their own, being able
to design their own colour schemes, plant combinations and bedding shapes 24 Elliott
mentions just three head gardeners who worked in Devon, Glendinning, Barnes and
Alexander Forsyth, the latter who came to Devon to supervise construction of the new

garden designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunei at Watcombe.

Kate Colquhoun writes exclusively about Joseph Paxton, a rare example of a man who

worked his way up from gardener's boy to become not only head gardener at
Chatsworth, but a great designer, editor of several publications and eventually,

gentleman. His life illustrated the enthusiasm, determination, hard work and to some
extent luck, that of being in the right place at the right time, which was shared by the
men who were most successful in the first half of the nineteenth century.

Introduction

Other garden historians such as David Stuart, who paints a depressing portrait of the life

of the working gardener, and Susan Campbell, devote just one chapter each to the men

who spent their lives caring for other people's gardens. 26

Two studies go a small way to addressing the need for work on women gardeners. Anne
Meredith has investigated the horticultural education, available from the final decade of
the nineteenth century, to those mostly middle-class young women who hoped to gain
employment as professional gardeners. 27 Although entitled Virgins, Weeders and
Queens: A History of Women in the Garden, Twigs Way's book contains little about the
'Weeders' of the title, it is mostly about women garden owners, designers, artists or
needlewomen. She too touches upon the education of women gardeners and stresses the
effect of the two world wars and the consequent shortages of men as turning points in

the acceptance of women in gardens.

John Harvey pioneered the study of nurseries and nurserymen. His research on those
who set up business in the eighteenth century includes references to some Exeter

nurseries, in particular those of Lucombe, established 1 720, and the Ford family, but he
concentrates on London nurserymen. E. J. Willson, among others, has chronicled the
history of London nurseries up to the twentieth century, and includes details of their
plant introductions. A more recent volume has been written about the Treseder family of
Truro. 30 Veitch's of Exeter and London were among the most famous nurserymen of the
nineteenth century, sending out plant-hunters to bring back exotics from across the

world to fuel an ever-growing demand in Britain. Shirley Heriz-Smith charts their rise
to fame and Sue Shephard also describes the importance of the Veitch nurseries in
Exeter and Chelsea. 31 Whereas the large horticultural businesses, which produced plants
on an industrial scale, are still remembered today, throughout history smaller businesses
and their contribution to the horticultural world have been forgotten; few know of
Dymond, the Sclaters or the Addiscotts in Exeter, or of the influence of the Rendle and
Pontey families in Plymouth. Fewer still will know about Cuerel in Plymouth, Bale in
Landkey or Hannaford in Teignmouth. Despite nurserymen being well-known to their

contemporaries, and the commercial nature of their lives leading to the generation of
more records than for most gardeners, material is still sparse when it comes to
knowledge of the workers in the nurseries.

Introduction

Much of the material on the history of market gardening was produced in the 1950s at a

time when the government was encouraging smaller growers following the Second

World War, 32 Until then the two most important texts were a report in the Royal
Horticultural Society's Journal in 1898 by Mr Assbee and that of Louisa Jebb who
studied small-holdings for the Co-operative Association. Ronald Webber charts the
history of the industry in the 1970s but provides little new information, basing a large
part of his work on earlier reports. According to Webber, apart from the Tamar valley,
there was 'not a great deal of horticulture' in Devon until the 1890s and the beginnings
of the violet industry around Torquay, Teignmouth and Dawlish. However, Charles
Vancouver in 1808, mentioned that in the 'kitchen gardens.., [of Devon] in the
neighbourhood of all the large towns, gardening is well understood, and carried on to
the extent required; and to a perfection little short of what is practiced in the vicinity of

35 * ■ T i

London'. There are more recent studies of the market gardening industry in

Bedfordshire and Worcestershire by F. Beavington and J. M. Martin respectively, and a
history of the Lobjoit family, a large producer for the Covent Garden Market. 36 Little is
written about Devon apart from brief mentions in other studies. 37 Most work on the

market garden industry in the South West region is centred in the Tamar Valley,
situated between Devon and Cornwall, despite a thriving industry throughout Devon,
for example, at Combe Martin in the north of the county, Torbay in South Devon, on the
cliffs at Branscombe, in localities around Exeter including Topsham and Heavitree, and
in the surrounds of Plymouth.

Local texts referred to include Devon Gardens: An Historical Survey edited by Steven
Pugsley which comprises ten chapters on different aspects of Devon gardens, and The
Magic Tree which details the history and background of many plants connected with the
county. Lie of the Land contains what was up-to-the minute archaeological research into
garden history in the South-West Region when it was published in 2003. Devon
Country Houses and Gardens Engraved illustrates country houses using contemporary
engravings, many with garden details; however, volume two has still to be published. 39
These works are principally about gardens and rarely include gardeners apart from

although Pugsley' s volume

chapter on nurserymen.

Many head gardeners produced their own books of practical advice including George
Glenny who also edited the Gardener's Gazette, David Thomson editor of The

Introduction

Gardener and H. W. Ward head gardener to the Earl of Radnor. 41 One practical volume,
aimed at all growers of vegetables including amateurs and market gardeners, was
translated and published in 1885. Written by a Frenchman from Paris, individual
varieties of vegetables are illustrated, their characteristics and keeping qualities

discussed and cultivation instructions given.

Contemporary garden writers were often scathing about working gardeners. William
Cobbett felt that, 'although many gardeners seldom want for confidence in their own
abilities ...many only pretended to knowledge'. He also thought that it was a rare thing
to find garden owners to be 'master of their gardeners'. 43 Gertrude Jekyll labelled
private gardeners 'ignorant' and 'narrow-minded'. 44 She contrasted the life of the
garden owner, as someone continually striving to educate himself throughout life, with

man of narrow mental training

master's instructions and became obstructive or 'sullenly acquiescent' 45 Although
Jekyll claimed to have only known five honest gardeners 6 open to new ideas' she does
redress the balance somewhat by admitting that some owners could have over-high

expectations of their gardener's abilities 46 This would certainly be true of people

expecting the skills of a top head gardener for the pay of a garden labourer. On the other
hand, the conflict between a self-educated master and a well-read, experienced and
professional garden manager must have been one of the problems of employment where
there was little difference in social class between the two.

It was crucial that the best staff were chosen to work in showcase gardens as they were
visited by large numbers of influential and often critical people. A good head gardener
needed to be conversant with all the latest fashions and advances in gardening
techniques. He was required to be educated to a high standard with management skills
to organise workers, which included skilled gardeners and numerous garden labourers,
and to be able to converse with garden owners and their visitors. The status of the head
gardener reflected the importance owners placed on their gardens. Victorian values of
ambition and hard work saw men, like John Veitch of Killerton, Alexander Pontey of

Plymouth and James Barnes of Bicton, become part of a rising professional class whose
members gained economic and social status through their knowledge, experience and
expertise 47 Few achieved the meteoric rise from lowly gardener to friend and
confidante of his master, Member of Parliament and entrepreneur as did Paxton;
however, many like William Rendle, a third generation nurserymen from Plymouth,

Introduction

rose to become a 'gentleman'. Rendle served as a Commissioner of Improvement, had a

house at Hyde Park in London and stayed at the Clarendon Hotel in Brighton. 48 Other
men acquired land and property, such as Richard Carter of Plymouth, William Vernon
of South Molton and Herman Saunders, who became a 'landed proprietor' at Starcross
on his retirement from Kitley. 49

Gardening in Devon

Devon is a large county with several distinct microclimates, from sheltered valleys
which contain frost pockets to high rainfall areas in the west and north of the county. 50
These different conditions encouraged a variety of gardening opportunities and related
skills. Despite winds and salt-laden air around the coast, and harsh conditions near
Dartmoor, the predominantly gentle climate of the county made it ideal for trialling new
plant species, many of which arrived in Plymouth or Exeter before being dispatched
throughout the country. Not all plant material was purely decorative or food related,
some had practical purposes and their utilisation helped the expanding British Empire.
For example, in 1 827, the Pontey nursery in Plymouth became one of the only nurseries
in Britain to raise and experiment with the Pita plant, the fibres of which were prized for
the manufacture of cordage which proved stronger than the traditional hemp rope used
by the Navy.

The mild climate also created an economic advantage over growers in other areas of the
country with an extended season whereby plants could be put outside up to a month
earlier than in other counties and would often stand in the open for a month later. As

glasshouses were expensive to build, maintain and heat this was an important
consideration which helped the growth of the nursery and market garden trade and
enhanced the reputation of head gardeners such as Herman Saunders, who became
known for fruit growing at Kitley.

The norts round

gardening and of nurseries. Produce and plants could be imported and exported by sea

as well as by road. Market gardeners sold vegetables, fruit and flowers to local towns
and, later, via the railway, to large cities such as London, Bristol and Birmingham. By
1889 there were 1,112 acres of market gardens and 319 acres of nursery grounds in the
county, as well as 26,485 acres of orchard, supplying food for the county and beyond. 53

Introduction

Mariners had to be fed while at sea, creating a ready market, and gardeners were often
requested to supply stores at short notice. Alexander Pontey in Plymouth took
advantage of the port to import bones from Europe for his bone manure manufactory, as
did W. Tremlett & Co, at Exeter. 54

Apart from a few showcase gardens which included Bystock Court, Castle Hill,
Saltram, Luscombe, Endsleigh, Winslade and Bicton, which were in 'perfect high-
keeping', there were not the great gardens that feature in other parts of the country such
as Derbyshire and Yorkshire. 55 Instead, Devon had a multitude of smaller gardens.
Loudon mentions twenty-two in his Encyclopaedia, but none qualified, in his
estimation, as 'first-rate residences'. 56 However, despite the distance from major cities
Devon families maintained good social links with the rest of the country. They spent
time in London, Bristol and Bath for the appropriate seasons where it was possible to
visit some of the better nurseries and fashionable country houses. Members of the
gentry and aristocracy travelled abroad visiting historical gardens, and men from top
county families such as Rolle, Courtenay, Drake, Fortescue and Acland became
Members of Parliament, necessitating spending time in the capital Many landowners
like Lord Churston of Lupton House had a London house and estates elsewhere. 57
Therefore Devon kept up to date with, and in some cases anticipated, garden design
trends. The Rolles at Bicton, for example, had one of the earliest curvilinear palm-
houses in Britain, built cl826, with cast-iron glazing bars fitted with fish-scale panes of
glass. 58 Early hothouses were built at Maristow, Powderham Castle, Nutwell Court and

and

Montrath

gardener Robert Reid with the help of a local mason.

Although major designers had little direct input into Devon gardens, their influence was
apparent in garden design. Those who did work in Devon included Humphry Repton
who designed for great landowners such as the Hoare family at Dawlish and the Duke

of Bedford at Endsleigh. 60 Francis Chantrey, not normally known as a garden designer,

created a plan for a circular flower garden at Kitley. 61 William Nesfield, William
Robinson, and Gertrude Jekyll also advised on gardens in the county.

tourists into the region which encouraged

and gardens as leisure facilities and

Introduction

ideas and designs. The Veitch nursery, among others, advised on, designed, laid out and
planted parks. 63 Charles Sclater, Lucombe and Pince, Veitch in Exeter and William
Rendie in Plymouth also opened their nursery gardens to the public. 64 Head gardeners,
such as John Rabjohns and William Anderson, were employed by Exeter town council
(later the city council) to maintain public gardens and to oversee the production of

bedding plants for elaborate displays. 65 Garden cemeteries were also laid out by local
nurserymen, such as Hannaford at Teignmouth, to give the public more access to green
walks. Ford Park Cemetery in Plymouth had a large staff, not only to maintain the
designed landscape but also to grow flowers which were destined for wreaths. 66

Nineteenth century landowners took the opportunity to make money and influence their
surroundings. Land was drained and reclaimed from the sea and villas built for holiday
makers and the retired. Tourists who over-wintered or settled in the county also brought
with them the latest ideas for villa gardens, increasing the demand for new plants and
gardeners to tend new gardens. A middle class villa owner could combine a need for a
coachman with the need for a gardener, frequently with a wife as a cook or
housekeeper, as did Martha Hurrell at Pennycross. Those sufficiently wealthy could
employ a knowledgeable head gardener to superintend the garden and grow flowers,
fruit and vegetables, some to be shown at local horticultural shows. 68 Head gardeners
who had traditionally combined gardening with farming took on an additional role of
caretaker, looking after the property when the owner was absent.

Primary Sources

For this study extensive use has been made of census returns, however, there were
challenges with using this source. Although the 1841 census was the first in which
occupations were listed, this was only for men aged twenty and over. Some gardeners
identified through estate records were not included in enumerators' returns; men such as
John Chaffey at Axminster and Thomas Otton at Sidmouth were listed instead as *male
servant'. Many working gardeners were recorded as labourers. This might have been
because gardeners were subject to servant tax, or that they viewed themselves as day
labourers who worked in the garden; casual workers were not recorded in the census.
The whole of Devon has been researched rather than one or two parishes, as there is no
typical Devon parish when it comes to gardens and gardeners, although some areas,

such as St Thomas and Heavitree in Exeter, had a higher preponderance of gardeners

Introduction 19

due to the number of nurserymen based there. Where parish boundaries have changed,
the modem equivalent has been used.

Census records indicate that the number of working class women who were employed

in gardens appeared to decline during the nineteenth century. Edward Higgs has shown

that there is a large discrepancy between the numbers of women who worked in
agriculture listed in the census and those listed in wages books. For example, in 1871,

according to census figures, women made up just six per cent of the agricultural
workforce, but when adjusted using other sources such as wages books the figure
increased to twenty-seven per cent. 69 This study also found that many women were
continuously employed in all types of garden, especially nurseries and market gardens.
Although many were family members there were also women employed as weeders,
harvesters, and labourers. 70 As late as the 1890s gangs of women and girls were still
moving from one county to another engaged in fruit picking. Many women
successfully took on a nursery or market gardening business when their husbands or
fathers died, which argues that they were already working within the industry or had a
good knowledge of business practices.

Details of commercial gardeners have been cross referenced with contemporary
directories. These list occupations of people in business, the gentry and aristocracy, but
there was no consistency between volumes as to how inhabitants were recorded. Market
gardeners sometimes appear as 'farmers', sometimes as 'gardeners'. Some nurserymen
were listed as market gardeners and vice versa. Kelly's Directory splits gardeners into
two separate sections. The aristocracy of gardeners, 'nurserymen', 'seedsmen' and
'florists' are in one group; 'gardeners' (sometimes, but not always, private gardeners),
'jobbing gardener', 'landscape gardeners' and 'market gardener' are in the other. Since
men moved freely from one part of the industry to another, it has proved difficult to
categorise them.

A few important gardeners, housed on an estate, were listed with the gentry. For
example, William Bedford was listed as head gardener to the Countess of Egremont at
Silverton in White's Directory in 1850; David Wilson at Castle Hill and John Franklin

at Poltimore were among those listed in the 1878/79 edition. 72 Later editions of Kelly's

Directory had a section for private head gardeners, mostly those working for large villa
or estate owners. As directories were compiled in advance of publication date, they are

Introduction

not always accurate, for example, John Bartlett of Fremington appeared in the second
edition of White 's yet he had died in 1877, a couple of years before publication.

Names and details of gardeners who worked in Devon during the nineteenth century
were entered onto one database which has grown to contain references for over 15,000
men, women and children (see Appendix I). Estate records, newspapers, directories,
journals and other primary records were used to supplement the census records. The
database has been used to determine family links between the different branches of the
gardening profession and generational links between family members. For example,
members of a family named Yole worked as private gardeners and nurserymen, and in a
variety of gardens from Maristow to Endsleigh. The database shows that the Hull family
at Tamerton Foliot leased the same land for a hundred years and after they left the land

continued to be used as a nursery for a further fifty years.

Separate databases have been compiled to list wages at different gardens and to
determine how long head gardeners remained in one position.

Analysis of the databases reveals that individual gardeners could work within all
branches of the industry in their lifetime in order to gain experience or promotion.
Leases and deeds record movement of tenants, length of tenure, rent payable and cost of
land for commercial gardeners. They also demonstrate that short tenancy agreements led
to frequent moves for many smaller commercial gardeners. Towns grew fast; not only
did gardeners have to keep their own businesses together and expand where possible,
but they also fought a losing battle with commercial interests and the demand for
housing. Many market gardeners and nurserymen were forced to move from the centre
to the edge of towns.

Devon has a good collection of estate archives and local records. 74 Details of
documents, printed sources and illustrations for more than two hundred gardens in the

county have been listed by Todd Gray in The Garden History of Devon, although since

publication of this volume in 1995 some catalogue details have changed and new
material has been deposited. 75 Large estates in the county such as Killerton, Castle Hill,
Endsleigh, Maristow and Powderham Castle have good records kept by agents or

stewards who were accountable to a powerful or absent landowner. Because the garden
was an important, and often expensive, part of an estate, garden accounts were listed

Introduction

separately from work carried out by artisans and labourers. No two sets of records are
the same, not even from the same estate or even the same record keeper. At Saltram
work in the plantations and parkland was separated from that in the pleasure grounds
and kitchen garden. As the annual or monthly breakdown found in agents' ledgers

were kept for accounting purposes they exclude details such as the numbers of

gardeners and individual wages or tasks. This frustrating lack of evidence of how the
garden staff was organised and paid could be a reason why many books written about
Victorian servants exclude gardeners. 77 Records used extensively for information on
gardeners and their wages and working conditions include those of gardens at Horswell,
Maristow, Powderham, Saltram, Kitley and Escot.

Most day-to-day bookwork was kept in the garden office. As a result, very few of these
records survive. Few records have been found for Winslade and Bystock although these

7ft

gardens were important enough to be commented on in contemporary journals. In
general, garden accounts kept by the head gardener list foremen, under-gardeners and
labourers with details of their pay. Work done in the gardens by carpenters, glaziers,
painters, masons and the smith was recorded in a separate section, often at the bottom of
the page. Some daily ledgers resemble a school register of attendance. A few, for
example those at Endsleigh, include details of the work undertaken by each individual. 79
This has helped to answer questions about the pay structure and how the work was
shared out and overseen.

Evidence of the existence of less well known head gardeners can sometimes be more
difficult to find than that for the labouring gardener. They were rarely listed with either
the outdoor staff nor with the indoor servants. In households such as Powderham and
Newnham, the head gardener was considered on a par with the upper servants, and paid

a similar salary to the butler. Journeymen gardeners, working their way up the career
ladder, frequently do not appear with lists of labourers on an estate, a further indication
that separate records were kept for the garden and are now lost. 81 These men usually
lived in a bothy or lodged on the estate, yet were still considered to be servants which
gave them a little more security, status and importance than labourers. However, even
when they were paid by the year rather than by the day, their income worked out to little
more than that of the lowliest of the labourers. 82

Introduction

Advertisements in contemporary newspapers frequently stated prices and quantities of
trees and plants available and indicated what was grown and sold. Situations vacant and
wanted columns, where gardeners advertised their services or garden owners looked for
workers, showed requirements of different establishments. The Exeter Flying Post
recorded disputes, criminal proceedings against and for nurserymen and gardeners and
bankruptcy proceedings. Reports of horticultural exhibitions were detailed, many listed
competition classes and prize-winners. Head gardeners acted as judges and teachers at
cottage garden shows, and commented on, not just produce, but, following the ethos of
the time, the neatness and tidiness of cottage and allotment gardens. These reports
detailed produce being exhibited, they frequently named the judges and demonstrated
the range of people involved in the shows. Some gardeners have been identified in birth,
death and marriage columns and some relationships between gardening families
confirmed. Notable events were also reported such as the opening of Plymouth Royal
Botanic Garden by William Rendle, nurseryman, in 1 850.

Finding insights into the experiences of Victorian gardeners is difficult. It was rare that
a working gardener left details of his life, although some diaries do exist. Joseph Turrill

with

several small plots of land, 84 Thirty years earlier Mr Nicholls, a nurseryman from
Redruth, kept a daily journal in which he recorded the weather and interesting events in
his locality. He noted the beginning and ending of the market season, and the
whereabouts of his men, mostly family members, who delivered and planted trees on
Cornish estates. Presumably this information was used to aid him when it came to
collecting payment from garden owners and in recompensing his staff. An interesting
aspect of this diary is the link revealed between nurserymen throughout the country:
Nicholls dealt with other nurserymen in Cornwall and Devon, but also travelled
regularly to London to do business, as well as entertaining travelling representatives
from other nurseries. 85 He was instrumental in gaining employment for some gardeners
and kept good relationships with head gardeners, inviting them, and sometimes their
wives, to a meal and a bed for the night when they visited his nursery.

A contrasting diary of Robert Aughtie describes life as an under-gardener from 1848 to
1850 on the Chatsworth estate. 87 This diarist recounts not just his working life, but also

his social activities. Surprisingly, he had a reasonable amount of freedom, being

allowed time off, not only to visit his sister when she was ilk but also to tour local

Introduction

gardens. The latter might have been work-related, an opportunity to compare working
practices as well as 'the stimulus ... to equal or excel others'. 88 However, Aughtie also
took a fortnight's leave to experience 'the grandest outing I have ever had'. 'Having a
desire to see the N. W. of England', he travelled approximately nine hundred miles, by
road, sea and foot, to explore factories and gardens which included a trip from

Liverpool to Ireland. Although it was not uncommon for head gardeners to be allowed
time off to visit other gardens it was unusual for an under-gardener to have a holiday

such as this, albeit a working one, and therefore this account is unlikely to be
representative of other gardeners working on estates at this time.

A more informative diary is that of William Cresswell who worked as a single-handed
gardener for a villa owner when his notes commenced, but who also, for a short time,
worked at Audley End, Essex. He not only noted the weather daily but also described

making

two

establishments with his duties at Carter's Nursery where he spent time before moving to

Audley End, Frequently diaries do not mention everyday tasks as they were too
mundane and commonplace to the author to be noted, but in this case Cresswell kept
records of when and how plants were propagated and harvested, building up a useful
reference for his future. The emphasis on recording wind direction, temperature and
rainfall patterns also indicates how important the weather was for future planning.

One of the last people to experience life in a garden bothy was Arthur Hooper. A head
gardener's son, he was apprenticed as a gardener from the age of fourteen, Arthur
related his experiences on a variety of estates during the first quarter of the twentieth
century. He described the highs (comradeship) and lows (poor living conditions) of life

and

91 it

appears that garden practices had changed little since the previous century.

A contemporary of Hooper was Ted Humphris who became a gardener's boy at Aynho
Park House on the Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire borders in 1915 aged just thirteen.
He was eventually promoted to head gardener and remained in the same garden until he
retired in 1969. This autobiography enforces the notion that it is unsafe to generalise
about a typical gardener. Humphris was a rarity in that he did not move from garden to

garden to achieve his promotion as did many other head gardeners. Two further points
arise from his history. The first is that until the Second World War garden labour was

Introduction

plentiful and cheap, the second, that time spent to produce perfect flowers or vegetables
was immaterial, it was the quality of the end product that was important. This was in
stark contrast with life as a market gardener where a limited number of vegetables and
flowers were grown on an industrial scale and where a crop failure could lead to

economic failure. Speed was therefore an essential part of production as described by
James Barnes where:

...you will see a large space of ground cropped and arrived at the greatest state
of perfection one day, and in about three days afterwards you will see it all gone;
the ground manured, trenched and cropped, almost in the space of time a West-
Country man would turn around to reply to a question. 93

Other resources have included maps, plans, letters, diaries, parish records such as
settlement returns and apprentice papers, nursery catalogues and quarter session reports.
Regretfully, many Devon wills were destroyed during the Second World War, although
a few have survived as copies or tucked into estate or solicitors' records. These tell us a
little about the fortunes of some of the wealthier gardeners and nurserymen. An 1803
listing of the Exeter Militia notes several gardeners among the men eligible to serve,
most notably John, James and William Sclater whose family went on to become well-
known nurserymen. 94 The 1832 and 1864 voters' lists identify gardeners eligible to
vote, and among the list of account holders of the West of England and South Wales
District Bank are a few nurserymen and gardeners who would have needed a bank
account for their business or because they were handling large amounts of money in the
absence of owners. 95

Structure of thesis

This thesis falls naturally into two sections, Part One looks at private gardeners and Part
Two considers the commercial gardeners. The former gardened for a master or mistress,
the latter were led by self employed men, who had business skills in addition to their
gardening knowledge and experience. Many had trained in private gardens. The first
chapter sets the scene and considers the effect that social and horticultural change in the

nineteenth century had on the gardener with the introduction of exotic plants and
changing designs which directed how gardens were laid out. The number of gardeners
increased as gardening became more labour intensive and, due to urban growth, more
people had access to a garden.

Introduction

'England is the nursing home of self-made men ...they bring themselves to the front by
their natural forces' proclaimed the Exeter Flying Post. 96 These 'natural forces' ensured

0*7

that gardeners had a higher mobility than other servants and labourers. They needed to
move frequently to gain experience in different garden departments and also to increase
their income. A gardener who remained in one position for any length of time was
unlikely to receive a pay rise. Benjamin Dawson at Maristow earned £1 a week from
when he was first employed as head gardener in 1843 until at least 1854 when the
records cease. 98 There were life-style reasons for remaining in one place, not least of
which was loyalty to a particular garden or owner.

Chapter two contrasts the working life of a professional gardener who worked in private
gardens with that of garden labourers. It demonstrates how many times a successful
professional gardener moved from one position to another and how physical movement
frequently affected social movement and social status. The nineteenth century saw the
emergence of a structured process of education and training through which a gardener
had to progress in order to become accepted as a 'master' gardener, although the strict
hierarchy of a large estate did not always support individuals. Self-education became an
important factor for future employment of professional gardeners. This chapter suggests
that many gardeners never achieved their career ambitions and outlines what became of
the aged gardener, whether successful or otherwise.

Chapter three describes the lives of the lowliest of gardeners, the garden labourers,
jobbing gardeners and women workers. Many jobbing gardeners combined their work
with another profession such as an innkeeper, butcher or lodging-house keeper.
Domestic gardeners in smaller households combined roles of groom, coachman or
general help; their wives were often employed as laundresses, cooks, housekeepers or
lodge-keepers, and many took the surplus produce of the gardens to market to sell. This

and

working conditions and practices, and looks at wages of gardeners.

Chapter four considers the men who were at the pinnacle of their profession. It looks at
the autonomy of the head gardener or superintendent and considers the managerial skills
needed to lead the staff in a large garden where it was often necessary to send surplus
produce to local markets, hire and dismiss staff, order stock, oversee production of plant
material and experiment with new imported and hybridized stock. These responsibilities

Introduction

will be contrasted with the lives of head gardeners of smaller establishments. The
influence of head gardeners on the future of gardening as a profession is considered.
This chapter also discusses competition and communication of gardeners through
attendance at horticultural society shows, and their correspondence in gardening

journals and pamphlets.

The second part of the thesis considers the role of commercial gardeners, the
nurserymen and market gardeners who competed to supply both the region and the
country with vegetables, fruit, flowers and gardening equipment.

Chapter five charts the rise in the numbers of market gardeners who produced food for
growing nineteenth century towns. The railways led to growers being able to specialise
according to climate and soil conditions. This increased the number of gardeners who
not only supplied local markets, but also sent fruit and flowers by train to Covent
Garden market in London. Spread throughout the county, but mainly based within easy
reach of the larger towns, ports or railway stations, many market gardens were small
family run businesses. Good financial returns enabled market gardeners to compete
successfully with nurserymen.

The wealthiest gardeners, looked at in Chapter six, were the nurserymen. Some had
links which went back to the early eighteenth century. To be a success, it was necessary
to specialise or to keep up with the latest imports. Lucombe and Pince were the first of
the Exeter nurseries and one of the most long-lived; the Veitch family also began their
business in the eighteenth century, and became known for design of gardens, importing
plant material from across the world and for their hybridization of plants. There were

many smaller nurseries who supplied the market with everything from forest trees to
ferns for new conservatories. Proprietors of nurseries dealt with head gardeners of large
estates and sometimes with the gentry themselves. They produced plants on an
industrial scale to be used by other gardeners in private gardens or in market gardens.
As businessmen they mixed socially with other professional classes; in contrast their
workers worked long hours for little pay.

This thesis concludes that the numbers of professional gardeners increased dramatically
throughout the nineteenth century in response to a largely middle-class demand for
gardens, the availability of new plant material and a wider variety of foodstuffs. To gain

Introduction

experience, professional gardeners often worked in all branches of the profession at
some stage in their lives. Although the increased professionalism led to a rise in status
of all gardeners throughout the century, this was not matched by increased wages and
improved working conditions, especially for the average gardener. A small percentage
achieved their goal of becoming a head gardener or proprietor of a commercial
establishment, but, despite their long and varied training, many working gardeners
remained little more than journeymen or garden labourers.

1 J.C. Loudon, The Suburban Gardener and Villa Companion (London and Edinburgh, 1838), 534.

2 Henry A. Bright, The English Flower Garden (London, 1881), vi.

3 Bright, English, 1 •

4 These figures include domestic gardeners working in private gardens, market and jobbing gardeners,
and nurserymen. Source: Census (1851): population tables, pt II: ages t civil condition, occupations and
birth-places of the people (PP 1854, lxxxviii vol 1); Census (1891) Vol III, ages, condition as to
marriage, occupations, birthplaces and infirmities (PP 1893-4, cvi).

5 J. C. Loudon, 'Self Education of Gardeners', GM1 (1826), 225-226, 225.

6 Anne Wilkinson, The Victorian Gardener: The Growth of Gardening & the Floral World (Stroud,
2006).

7 See, for example, Miles Hadfield, Gardening in Britain (London, 1960); Graham Stuart Thomas,
Gardens of the National Trust (London, 1979); Laurence Fleming & Alan Gore, The English Garden
(London, 1990); Christopher Thacker, The Genius of Gardening: The History of Gardens in Britain and
Ireland (London, 1994); Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall, The Garden: An English Love Affair, One
Thousand Years of Gardening (London, 2002).

8 Stephen Daniels, Humphry Repton: Landscape Gardening and the Geography of Georgian England
(New Haven & London, 1999); Melanie Louise Simo, Loudon and the Landscape: From Country Seat to
Metropolis (New Haven & London, 1988); Kate Colquhoun, A Thing in Disguise: The Visionary Life of
Joseph Paxton (London, 2003); Judith B. Tankard & Michael R. Van Valkenburgh, Gertrude Jekyll: A
Vision of Garden and Wood (London, 1990); Mea Allan, William Robinson 1838-1935: Father of the
English Flower Garden (London, 1982).

9 Martin Hoyles, The Story of Gardening (London, 1991), 24.

10 Jim Sharpe, 'History from Below*, in New Perspectives on Historical Writing, ed. by Peter Burke
(Pennsylvania, 1991), 23-41,25.

11 Charles Quest-Ritson, The English Garden: A Social History (London, 2001); Jane Brown, The Pursuit
of Paradise: A Social History of Gardens and Gardening (London, 1999).

1 Joan Morgan and Alison Richards, A Paradise out of a Common Field: The Pleasures and Plenty of the
Victorian Garden (New York, 1990).

Harold Perkin, Professionalism, property and English Society since 1880; The Stenton Lecture 1980
(Reading, 1981), 7.

14 H. Repton, An Enquiry into the Changes of Taste in Landscape Gardening [1806] repr. (Farnborough,
1969), 44.

15 J. C. Loudon, Encyclopaedia of Gardening (London, 1822), 1327-1330; Loudon, 'Self Education', 225,
356.

16 Eric J. Evans, The Forging of the Modern State: Early industrial Britain 1 783-1870 2 nd edn (London,
1996), 178, 292.

17 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 378.

18 Henry Dalgleish (Knightshayes, Tiverton), John Gullett (Woodbine Cottage, Torquay), Richard
Saunders (Luscombe Castle, Dawlish), Araaziah Saul (Castle Hill, South Molton) and James Griffin
(Cowley House, Exeter), were also contributors from Devon.

™ Gardener's Magazine (GM) 5 (1829); The Gardener (1870).

0 Toby Musgrave, The Head Gardeners: Forgotten Heroes of Horticulture (London, 2007), chapters 7
and 8.

Introduction

21 See GA/18(1842), 555-567, 617-621; GM 19 (1843), 2-3,46-52, 111-113, 138-9, 164-6,234-8 301-6,
367-8, 419-26, 495-7, 539-40, 601-5, 606-7, 653-7; The Times, 13.12.1869, lid; Gardener's Chronicle
(GQ21.11.1874, 655-6.

22 Plymouth and West Devon Record Office (PWDRO) 74/623; GM 1 (1826), 265; These were also the
themes of late eighteenth-century books written by working gardeners such as John Abercrombie, Samuel
Cooke, John Dicks and Thomas Ellis.

23 Brent Elliott, Victorian Gardens (London, 1986); Robert Glendinning (1805-62) worked at Bicton until
1839 and also worked at the Exeter Nursery with Lucombe and Pince before taking over Richard
Williams* nursery in Chiswick.

24 Elliott, Victorian, 13.

25 Colquhoun, Paxton (London, 2003); Paxton edited the Magazine of Botany and Register of Flowering
Plants (1834-49), The Horticultural Register and General Magazine (183 1-6) as well as being involved
with the Gardener's Chronicle and writing a Botanical Dictionary (London, 1840) and a Practical
Treatise on the Culture of the Dahlia (London, 1838).

26 Susan Campbell, Charleston Kedding: A History of Kitchen Gardening (London 1996); David Stuart,
The Garden Triumphant: A Victorian Legacy (London, 1988).

27 Anne M. Meredith, 'Middle-Class Women and Horticultural Education, 1890-1939' PhD. Thesis,
University of Sussex, 2001; Anne Meredith, 'Horticultural Education in England, 1900-40: Middle-Class
Women and Private Gardening Schools' Garden History 31:1 (2003), 67-79.

28 Twigs Way, Virgins, Weeders and Queens: A History of Women in the Garden (Stroud, 2006), 213-21.

29 John Harvey, Early Nurserymen: with reprints of Documents and Lists (London, 1974); 'Early
Nurseries at Exeter', Garden History Society Newsletter 24 (1988).

30 For example, E. J. Willson, West London Nursery Gardens: the nursery gardens of Chelsea, Fulham,
Hammersmith and a part of Westminster, founded before 1900 (London, 1982); Nurserymen to the
World: The Nursery Gardens of Woking and North-West Surrey and plants introduced by them (London,
1989); David Solman, Loddiges of Hackney: The largest hothouse in the world (London, 1995); Suzanne
Treseder, A Passion for Plants: The Treseders of Truro (Penzance, 2004).

31 Shirley Heriz-Smith, 'The Veitch Nurseries of Killerton and Exeter, Part 1, cl780 to 1863', Garden
History 16:1 (1988), 41-57;'James Veitch & Sons of Exeter and Chelsea, Part 2, 1853-1870*, Garden
History 16:2 (1988), 135-153; Sue Shephard, Seeds of Fortune: A Gardening Dynasty (London, 2003).

32 D. J. Goodchild, Horticulture in the Tamar Valley, Horticultural Education Association Annual Report

(1954); Katherine H. Johnstone, 'Horticulture in the Tamar Valley', Agriculture 62 (1955), 123-9; Grace
L. Zambra, Violets for Garden & MarkeU rev. edn (London, 1950).

33 Mr J. Assbee, 'The Progress of Market Garden Cultivation During Queen Victoria's Reign', Journal of
the Royal Horticultural Society (JRHS) 21:3 (1 898), 393-412; L. Jebb, The Small Holdings of England: A
Survey of Various Existing Systems (London, 1907).

34 Ronald Webber, Market Gardening: The History of Commercial Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Growing

(Newton Abbot, 1972).

35 C. Vancouver, General view of the agriculture of the county of Devon [1808], repr. (Newton Abbot,
1969), 235.

36 F. Beavington, 'The Development of Market Gardening in Bedfordshire 1799-1939', Agricultural
History Review (AgHR) 23.1 (1975), 23-47; J. M. Martin, 'The Social and Economic Origins of the Vale
of Evesham Market Gardening Industry', AgHR 33.1 (1985), 41-50: Jessie Lobjoit Collins, Key of the
Fields (London, 1990).

37 Vancouver, Devon, 235; Joan Thirsk, Alternative Agriculture: A History From the Black Death to the

Present Day (Oxford, 1997); Christabel S. Orwin and Edith H. Whetham, History of British Agriculture
1846-1914 (London, 1964).

38 See Jebb, Small Holdings; Goodchild, horticulture'; Johnstone, Tamar Valley' (1955); Kelly's
Directory o/Devonshire (London, 1897), 88.

39 Steven Pugsley, (ed.), Devon Gardens: An Historical Survey (Stroud, 1994); NCCPG, The Magic Tree:
Devon Garden Plants History and Conservation (Devon, 1989); Robert Wilson-North (ed.), The Lie of
the Land: Aspects of the archaeology and history of the designed landscape in the South West Of England
(Exeter, 2003); Todd Gray, Devon Country Houses and Gardens Engraved: Volume One, A-La-Ronde to
Lifton Park (Exeter, 2001).

40 Audrey le Ltevre, To the Nobility and Gentry About to Plant': Nurseries and Nurserymen', in
Pugsley, Devon Gardens, 91-105.

41 See, for example, George Glenny, Glenny 's Hand-Book of Practical Gardening (London, 1 850); David
Thomson, Handy Book of The Flower Garden 2 nd e dn (Edinburgh and London, 1870); H. W. Ward My
Gardener: A Practical Handbook for the Million (London, 1891).

42 M. M. Vilmorin-Andrieux, The Vegetable Garden: Illustrations Descriptions and Culture of Garden

Vegetable [1885] Facsimile edn (London, 1977). Preface by William Robinson, Translated from French
by Mr W. Miller.

Introduction

43 William Cobbett, The English Gardener [1829] ed and with an introduction by Peter King (London,
1996), viii, 33, 125.

44 Gertrude Jekyll, Wood and Garden: Notes and Thoughts, Practical and Critical of a Working Amateur
[1899] (Suffolk, 1994), 360-369.

45 Jekyll, Wood, 362-3.

46 Jekyll, Wood, 367-8.

47 Harold Perkin, The Rise of Professional Society: England Since 1880 (London & New York, 1989), 4.

48 Census Enumerators ' returns (Census ) Public Record Office (PRO) HO 107 Plymouth St Andrew
1851, PRO RG11 Brighton 1881; PWDRO 842/9.

49 PWDRO 1408/63; North Devon Record Office (NDRO) 2309B/W272; Census PRO RG9 Kenton
1861.

50 ) NCCPG Magic Tree, 14.

51 GM, 8, (1832), 240-242.

52 GH 7 (1831), 225: GM 18, (1842), 542; Torquay and Tor Directory and General Advertiser
10.04.1846, 3b reported that 'Dahlias have been gathered at Torquay, upon the hills on Christmas-day*.

53 Agricultural Returns of Great Britain (PP 1888 cvi).

54 Exeter Flying Post (EFP) 25.12.1861, lb.

55 GM, 18, (1842), 532.

56 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1247. Bicton, Boringdon, Castle Hill, Collipriest House, Endsleigh, Escot
House, Farringdon House, Great Fulford, Haldon House, Lindridge, Luscombe House, Mamhead, Mount
Edgcumbe [which used to be in Devon], Nutwell Court, Oxton House, Powderham Castle, The Retreat,
Saltram, Tawstock, Ugbrooke, Wolford Lodge and Yeo Vale.

57 Lord Churston had a house in Eaton Place London and estates in Staffordshire.

58 Phil Clayton, 'Glass Distinction', The Garden 132:2 (2007), 92-95, 92.

59 PWDRO 874/3/1 (1799); George Tod, Plans, Elevations and Sections of Hot-Houses, Green-Houses,
&c. recently built in different parts of England, for Various Noblemen and Gentlemen (London, 1 823),
14-22; GA/4(1828), 304.

60 Humphry Repton designed gardens at Endsleigh, Milton Abbot, for The Duke of Bedford, and at
Luscombe Castle, Dawlish, for Charles Hoare.

61 PWDRO 540/14/6; GM 18 (1842), 542,

62 See for example W. A. Nesfield at Watcombe, William Goldring at Stoodleigh, Mawson at Wood and
Jekyll at Lewtrenchard. William Robinson advised on gardens at Bicton and Killerton see Richard
Bisgrove William Robinson: The Wild Gardener (London, 2008); Devon Record Office (DRO)
1148M/Boxl8/4.

63 EFP 18.01.1890, 3d, People's Park at Bournemouth, laid out by Veitch and son; EFP 4.06.1897, 2e; F.
W, Meyer, landscape designer for Veitch, designed public gardens at Yeovil. EFP 24.07.1897, 6e, Veitch
and Son advised Exeter City Council on management of Northernhay Gardens and other parks.

64 EFP 07.08.1834, 2f; EFP 06.06.1850, 8e; EFP 01.08.1850, 5d; EFP 17.03.1880, 8c.

65 EFP 18.05.1864, 8b, Rabjohns had been gardener at Northernhay Park for 19 years. EFP 9.07.1898, 2f.

66 EFP 20.12.1855; Pers. communication Dr Henry Will.

67 Census PRO RG 1 1 Pennycross, 1881 [CD].

68 Devon Weekly Times (DWT) 05.11.1895.

69 Edward Higgs, 'Occupational Censuses and the Agricultural Workforce in Victorian England & Wales'
in Economic History Review (EcHR), XLVIII:4 (1995), 700-716, 711.

70 The Garden 01.03.1890, 21 1; 08.03.1890, 237; 22.03.1890, 283.

71 The Garden 01.03.1890, 211; 08.03.1890, 237; 22.03.1890, 283.

72 William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon including The City of Exeter
2 nd edn (Sheffield & London, 1850); Morris & Co, Directory and Gazetteer Devonshire ( 1870). As
Bicton was a prestigious garden, the head gardeners were always listed see White's 1870, 150 and Kelly's
Directory of Devonshire (London, 1893), 57.

73 PWDRO 874/3/44; DRO 3610Z and add/1; PWDRO 407/200, 282-3, 1656.

74 These survive in record offices at Exeter, Plymouth and Barnstaple. Local studies collections also have
good resources, especially access to contemporary newspapers such as the Exeter Flying Post, see West
Country Studies Library, Devon and Exeter Institution and North Devon Athanaeum. Some private

archives are also accessible, for example Clinton Devon Estate Archive holds records for Bicton and
Stevenstone, Powderham Castle and Ugbrooke have their own archives.

Todd Gray, The Garden History of Devon (Exeter, 1995).
76 PWDRO 69/M/7/28 Garden Account Books; PWDRO 69/M/6/1 12-1 14 Estate Account Books. At the
end of each year individual accounts were entered into one huge account book which gave a breakdown
of all the different departments on the estate so that the owner could see at a glance which area cost or
produced the most. Timber from the plantations would have been sold as part of the income of the estate
whereas the gardens were effectively part of the household expenses.

Introduction

77 See, for example, Pamela Sambrook, The Country House Servant (Stroud, 1999) and Keeping Their
Place: Domestic Service in the Country House 1700-1920 (Stroud, 2005); John Burnett, (ed.), Useful
Toil: Autobiographies of Working People from the 1820s to the 1920s [1974] repr. (London, 1994);
Pamela Horn, The Rise and Fall of the Victorian Servant (Stroud, 1990).

78 GC 9.04.1881, 474; The Gardening World 12 18.01.1896, 321; GM 19 (1843), 242.
79 DROL1258\W4/4.

80 DRO 1508M/Devon/Estate/Account Books V4; PWDRO 273/306.

81 See, for example, Bicton records 96M/Box2/6 and Clinton Devon Estate Archives uncatalogued Bicton
Workmen 's Time and Pay Sheet.

82 DRO 1508M/De von/Estate/Account Books/V18.

83 EFP 20.06.1850, 8e; 01.08.1850, 5d.

84 E. Dawson and S. R. Royal (eds.), An Oxfordshire Market Gardener: The Diary of Joseph Turrill of
Garsington 1863-67 (Stroud, 1993).

85 Cornwall Record Office (CRO) DDX 1 19/1-2 Nicholls of Redruth diary.

86 CRO DDX 119/1-2.

87 Basil and Jessie Harley, A Gardener at Chatsworth: Three Years in the Life of Robert Aught ie 1848-

1850 (Worcestershire, 1992).

88 R.T., 'The Necessity and Advantages of Gardeners visiting one another's Gardens' in GM8, (1832),
645-647.

89 Harley and Harley, A Gardener, 21 st October 1850, 186-188.

90 English Heritage, Diary of a Victorian Gardener: William Cresswell andAudley End (Swindon, 2006).

91 Arthur Hooper, Life in the Gardeners ' Bothy (Suffolk, 2000).

92 Ted Humphris, Garden Glory: From garden boy to head gardener at Aynhoe Park 2 nd edn (London
1988); Ted Humphris & Doris Palmer, Apricot Village: Further reminiscences of the Aynho gardener
(Bath, 1987).

93 James Barnes, 4 ART. II. Bicton Gardens their Culture and Management, in a Series of Letters to the
Conductor. Reasons for following the Business of a Market-Gardener', GM 19 (1843), 164-166, 165.

94 W. G. Hoskins (ed.), Exeter Militia List 1803 (London, 1972), 95, 96, 102.
95 DJfT(1871, 1872).

96 EFP 14.06.1865, 6f. Obituary of Joseph Paxton.

97 Jessica Gerard, Country House Life: Family and Servants, 1815-1914 (Oxford, 1994), 162, 174.

98 PWDRO 874/3/50-61.

Introduction

PART ONE

PRIVATE GARDENERS

Gardening as Employment

CHAPTER ONE

The Eclectic Century: Change in the garden and how it

affected the gardener

Introduction

Garden Ownership

Design

Glasshouses

Parks and Public Gardens

Summary

CHAPTER ONE

The Eclectic Century: Change in the garden and how it affected the gardener

...no-one can deny that the vast facilities afforded us by modern inventions, - the
vast improvements in particular races of flowers and plants, - the advantages of
modern science, and other characteristics of the age, have enabled us to carry out
many operations with much less trouble than our forefathers. 1

Introduction

Gardeners of the nineteenth century faced many changes and challenges. Ownership of
a garden expanded as pleasure gardens, once the prerogative of the aristocracy, became
a statement of conspicuous consumption of the middle classes. As travel became easier,
especially with the advent of the railways, owners moved more freely around the
country visiting one another. A garden, therefore, had to provide fresh fruit and

vegetables to feed a family and their guests, flowers for the house and all-year-round

interest. As designs changed from predominantly natural to an eclectic mix of styles
there was an attempt to combine new fashions and plants into one space. The strongest
emphasis throughout the nineteenth century was on the decorative and artistic, with
flower gardens at the forefront of design. Italianate terraces and parterres vied with
rockeries, grottoes, arboreta, herbaceous borders, shrubberies and flower beds, all
designed to display the latest varieties of imported trees and plants.

Nurseries such as Veitch and Son in Exeter, 'in which alone will be found more new
and valuable plants than in any place in Europe, with the single exception of the Royal
Botanic Garden at Kew,' were among the first to send out plant hunters. These intrepid
explorers brought back seeds and cuttings from as far away as America, Chile, Peru,
India, and China. Plant material was also dispatched to nurserymen in Devon from the
Royal Horticultural Society in London to be trialled in the mild climate (see Chapter
Six). The need to house tender exotics, which required heat and careful management to

survive, together with the repeal of the glass tax in 1845 and the brick tax in 1850,
encouraged the growth in the number of glasshouses. Every important garden had its
conservatories and specialist hothouses, some to house exotic species, others used as
'manufactories' of thousands of scarlet geraniums, yellow calceolarias, blue lobelia and
similar plants for bedding out. The use of colour in gardens was hotly debated between
gardeners, and horticulture became the prerogative of many, 'whether regarded as a

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

healthful and rational amusement, or as a source of beneficial employment and
subsistence'. 4

This chapter considers some of the many changes throughout this innovative period and
looks at the variety of garden designs, and new, 'scientific', techniques which increased
the demands made on gardeners and affected their working lives. It illustrates how the
need for botanical expertise and the demand for diversity in gardens increased the range
of specialisation which required experienced, educated, and consequently, more
professional, gardeners.

Garden Ownership

The employers of gardeners are as various as the branches of gardening...
private individuals form the great body of the employers of all grades of
gardeners ... 5

Investment in trade, manufacture and industry, and the growth of service providers such
as lawyers, bankers, doctors and the clergy had created a class of people with money to
invest in luxury items. The Barnstaple Permanent Mutual Benefit Building Society
enabled people like Henry Forester, 'Doctor of Medicine', to move from crowded, dirty
town centres to the suburbs, where they purchased or built villas with substantial
gardens in an attempt to emulate the gentry and aristocracy. 6 In St David's parish the
Duryard Estate was purchased by the Western Land Society and was, 'divided into Lots

of from an acre to four or more acres in extent', for sale to prospective home owners

and speculators. The aim was to fulfil a demand 'for villas with land attached, in the
neighbourhood of Exeter'. 7

The new purchasing power was evident in middle-class houses fuelled by
advertisements in newspapers which had become more widely read following the
abolition of newspaper tax in 1855. Masses of flowers were used for table decorations,
in fireplaces, or on specially constructed plant stands. There were flower motifs on
wallpaper, furniture and clothes. Larger houses had a small room with a sink where
plants could be arranged daily and it was one of the head gardener's jobs to cut fresh
flowers for the house, or to replace potted plants on a regular basis. The home became a
centre of entertainment and leisure where good food was offered. Kitchen gardens had
to be productive, the gardeners able to dispatch fresh fruit and vegetables to the cook or
to any of the houses where the family might be staying.

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

John Claudius Loudon had recognised the growing demand of new garden owners: his
Suburban Gardener and Villa Companion (1838) included detailed instructions of what
the fashionable should have in varied plots attached to different sized properties, from
'First' (aristocratic) to 'Fourth class' (artisan) dwellings. The book was written, 'in such
a manner as to be understood by those who have little knowledge of either gardening or

country affairs'. 8 Paxton-trained gardener, Edward Kemp, later Landscape Gardener at
Birkenhead Park, also wrote a book aimed at new garden owners, recognising that not

all would have numerous acres in which to lay out their garden. 9

Although many villa gardens were too small for the grand designs created for larger
estates, this did not prevent some Victorians from attempting to incorporate as many
features as possible into a confined area. Together with kitchen gardens, they contained
Chinese bridges, Indian gardens, follies, rustic arches, pergolas, seats, shelters,
summerhouses and aviaries. The rootery and stumpery provided a home for a collection
of ferns, while arboreta, American gardens and pineta demonstrated their owner's
botanical knowledge and ability to purchase new introductions. Grottoes and rockeries
demonstrated scientific hobbies and gave ladies the opportunity to design displays of

minerals and shells.

Industrial changes such as the manufacture of artificial stone by Austins and Coade
ensured that statues and fountains could be used to embellish a garden. 10 Pulhamite
stone, a form of cement treated to look like real rock, was used in place of stone in rock
gardens. The Victorians had a positive attitude to industry and materials used to create
rockeries included industrial waste which was inexpensive to purchase and sometimes
gave interesting effects. At Killerton, paper-printers' blocks were used as flower
baskets. Made of oak they were sanded and painted to resemble 'sculptured stone'. 11

A garden which conformed to the latest fashion became a status symbol. Instant results
were required; villa owners were not prepared to wait until a garden matured, hence
bedding became popular as results could be obtained in one season. The purchase of
garden furniture, plants and employment of staff to maintain gardens, demonstrated
there was surplus money to spend on non-essentials. The result of the increase in the
number of houses with large gardens meant that, by the end of the century, more people
employed gardeners than ever before.

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

Design

Although gardens underwent a huge transformation during the Victorian era, at the
beginning of the nineteenth century the emphasis was still on the landscape park. For
example, at Saltram in 1803 and 1804 twice as much money was spent on the park as on
the gardens. Labour alone cost more than six times that spent on the garden, however,
from 1805 newly created pleasure gardens began to take prominence over the park. 12
The annual garden account rocketed from £54.5s in 1804 to £376.1 Is. 1 VAA in 1814. 13

By the end of the first decade of the new century there had been a backlash against:

the false and mistaken taste for placing a large house in a naked grass-field,
without any apparent line of separation betwixt the ground exposed to cattle and
the ground annexed to the house. 14

Contemporary comment suggests that people had found landscape parks were too
natural and lacking in colour and interest. Richard Payne Knight, for example,
complained that they destroyed all 'picturesque composition'. He maintained:

The modem art of landscape gardening, as it is called, takes away all natural
enrichment, and adds none of its own; unless, indeed, meager or formal clumps
of trees and still more formal patches of shrubs, may be called enrichment. 15

Partly as a result of this criticism, landscape parks began to include individual garden
departments such as the pleasure garden for walks, the flower garden and a range of

glasshouses. This encouraged the employment of more specialised staff. At Powderham
Castle in 1807, a 'Botanic' gardener, Richard Mountjoy, was employed in addition to
Thomas Smiles, who had charge of the kitchen garden, and Thomas Dowell the head
gardener. 16

Taste and fashion changed for practical as well as aesthetic reasons. A large estate was
needed to develop parkland which required an initial input of a vast amount of labour to
drain land, move earth from one area to another, or to plant acres of trees. Designs took
a long time to mature and many landholders may never have lived to see original plans
grown to perfection. Landscape parks became impractical for people who were forced
to spend more time at home and less time travelling abroad due to the expenses and
restrictions of the Napoleonic Wars - there was nowhere dry underfoot near the house
where landowners and their visitors could take a stroll. Flowers, apart from flowering

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

shrubs in wilderness

away from the environs of the house. 17

From the late 1 820s onwards the depression in gardening, caused by the high taxation of
the Napoleonic Wars, was coming to an end. Aristocracy and the gentry competed to
purchase and display some of the many new plants introduced into the country which
Loudon estimated averaged 156 species a year from 1800 to 1816. 18 The newly rich
were less concerned with food and animal production which required a large acreage,
but were more interested in having sufficient space to display their collections of
imported trees. This was also a time of expansion of market gardens so there was a
wider variety of vegetables and fruit available from local markets to satisfy a growing
urban market (see Chapter Five).

Plumptre argues that nineteenth century garden design was 'essentially retrospective
and derivative'. 19 An alternative view was that the 1820s and 1830s were 'the most
exciting and innovative period in garden history'. These ideas are not mutually
exclusive. There was a return to formal garden layouts with elaborate parterres, topiary
and statuary. At the same time experiments in garden design led to an eclectic mix of
multiple beds and borders and new garden areas of all shapes and sizes which
incorporated new imported often highly coloured plants. Rare and tender plants were
displayed singly or in combination in glasshouses or arboreta.

Nineteenth century gardens were considered to be artistic creations, a direct contrast to
landscape parks where nature had been embellished and improved by designers such as

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown and his followers. Early in the century garden design had
two competing styles, the picturesque and the gardenesque. The chief protagonists for
the fashion of the picturesque were influential writers such as Uvedale Price and

Richard Payne Knight. They considered that landscape should be laid out and viewed as
if it were a painting, by Claude Lorraine or Poussin for example. Features of the
picturesque included artificial 'ruins', rocks, dead trees and wandering streams,

characterised by 'roughness, abruptness and sudden variation'. 21

Humphry Repton favoured a more utilitarian approach, especially near a mansion. In
principle he was against land being used purely for aesthetic purposes, and maintained
that 'the first object... ought to be convenience, and the next picturesque beauty'. 22 His

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

designs formed a transition between the landscape parks of Brown and the return to

formality and bedding of the 1850s. He recommended terraces to link house and garden
and incorporated flower gardens into his plans. Many of his shrub borders had a dual
purpose; to display scented and colourful plants, but also to screen working areas of the

estate from the immediate view of the house.

Loudon, an admirer of Repton, encouraged planting in what he termed a 'gardenesque*
style. This term was later adapted to indicate an informal method of planting, but
Loudon understood it to mean that plants were set out randomly, with plenty of space
between to demonstrate the 'individual perfections' of each species so that the beauty of
each was highlighted. 23 Artistically, this demonstrated the 'unnatural', artificial nature
of a garden, but there were other practical reasons for this method of gardening. Exotic
plants were expensive and often (initially), as at Horswell, only single specimens were

bought. 24 If a garden owner was a member of the Horticultural Society, they could enter

until

nurserymen had propagated sufficient plants for sale. Gardeners needed to learn about

the characteristics of new plants; it was easier to observe and record the habits of

individual specimens if they stood on their own. There was also an element of one-
upmanship with owners and head gardeners being able to exhibit expensive rare
specimens to garden visitors.

Head gardeners at Bicton were supporters of the gardenesque style. Although he
thought more space should have been left around individual trees, Loudon admired the

arboretum, laid out by Robert Glendinning during the winter of 1839 to 1840, for 'the

very careful manner in which the plants have been planted on raised hills of prepared
soil, and carefully staked and mulched'. James Barnes used a similar method to
replant the monkey-puzzle avenue, when the driveway was widened, where the trees

were set on mounds to display the junction of the tree trunks with their roots. Later he
planted Wellingtonia on large individual mounds 27

Design

family. He also designed

Endsleigh for the Duke

garden at Knightshayes, At Kitley, a plan for an elaborate and colourful flower bed,
probably produced on a visit to the Bastards, was drawn by Francis Chantrey, who was

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

better known for his sculpture. Accounts for work in the 'new flower garden' suggest it
was put into place a year later in 1832 (see Figure 1:1). 28

Local designers included Thomas Gray of Mamhead, who as early as 1779 had placed a
notice in the Exeter Flying Post to the effect that he was available to lay out 'Parks,
Lawns and Pleasure Grounds in the modern taste'. 29 It is known that Gray worked at
Powderham in 1808 and 1809, being paid £500 for unspecified work. 30 He had set

himself up as a designer in competition with John Veitch of Killerton, the head gardener
and steward who laid out the grounds there. Veitch, founder of the famous Veitch
nurseries, was reputed to have worked not just in Devon but in most counties in the
country and was 'well recommended by several Gentlemen'. 31

Figure 1:1. Plan of flower garden for Kitley by Sir Francis Chantrey cl831

Source: PWDRO 540/14/6.

Chapter One: The Eclectic

Veitch's son and grandsons also designed and planted gardens for many of the gentry,
using the nursery of Veitch and Son as suppliers of plant material; it is probable that the
nursery firm provided plants for many of Devon's nineteenth century gardens. Robert
Taylor Pince, of the earlier nursery of Lucombe and Pince was also responsible for

designing and laying out gardens, including the rosary at Winslade, and the new plot at
Sea Grove House in Dawlish.

By the 1850s gardening had become much more labour intensive. This was due to the
system which called for the propagation and planting of thousands of bedding plants, a
return to the fashion for box-edged beds, topiary, otherwise known as 'vegetable
sculpture', and the extension of the growing season with the use of forcing houses. The
increased use of topiary was not popular with all gardeners and was ridiculed in the
press as being 'unnatural' and 'offensive to good taste'. 33 George Glenny wrote: 'We
are no advocates for trimming shrubs after the manner of our forefathers; we want no
sugar-loaves and pyramids in box, no peacocks and dates cut out of yew' 34 However,
sculpted plants had the advantage of looking good in both summer and winter and were
useful in small gardens, or where all year round interest was required, so topiary became
very popular, especially with middle class garden owners 35 Plants used included bay,
beech, box, cypress, holly, hornbeam, juniper, privet, laurel, and rosemary, all of which
could be arranged as individual bushes, mazes or hedges. Skilled labour was required to
clip topiary plants at least once annually, and to keep specimens clear from snow in
winter to prevent breakages.

As houses became more ornate, owners demanded a setting to match. The castellated

mansion, home of Charles Wheaton, at Bassett Park, Withycombe Raleigh, had:

...a model cottage approached by serpentine walks, and surrounded by artificial

rock work and other ornaments. The lake is crossed by a curious rustic bridge,

leading to a plantation on the higher ground which commands a fine view of
Exmouth. 37

House and garden were connected with French windows, through conservatories, flower
corridors or verandahs, onto terraces. This was typified by the Cottage Orn6, such as
Endsleigh, the Duke of Bedford's hunting lodge and Knowle Cottage at Sidmouth, the
home of Mr Fish. The latter was very popular with garden visitors. 38 It had 'a verandah,
three hundred and fifteen feet long, by twelve wide', which contained flower-stands that
held 'not less than four thousand plants'. 39 Labour was needed to keep the double pots

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

in the flower-stands watered to reduce the effects of drying out from wind and sun
These pots, and the climbing plants on the oak verandah supports, also had to be kep

trimmed to a state of 'extreme neatness and elegance'.

Knowle Cottage also contained an Italian garden. The formality of Italianate gardens
such as those designed by Charles Barry at Shrubland Park, Suffolk, and William
Andrews Nesfield at Witley Court, Worcestershire, looked back to the time before
landscape parks became popular. Terraces were decorated with statuary, urns,

balustrades and fountains. Scrollwork parterres, designed by Nesfield, contained box
hedging surrounding coloured gravels. In Devon, grand gardens such as Watcombe
Park, Mamhead, Bishopstowe, Winslade and Streatham Hall 41 had examples of gardens
designed in the Italianate style, as did smaller villa gardens at Babbacombe Court and
Woodcot. At Greedy Park the Trench, American and English Gardens, replete with
splendid conservatories, fountains and vases* were reputedly laid out by W.A.
Nesfield. 42 This was almost certainly journalistic license on the part of the author of an
advertisement designed to entice people to visit the garden as there seems no other

evidence to support Nesfield' s interest, and, according to a later report in the Exeter
Flying Post, many visitors had problems recognising the gardens and their contents as
previously described in the newspaper.

Country house visiting became a popular activity from the 1770s, first among the rich,

then the middle class. 44 The housekeeper showed visitors over the house, the head
gardener was frequently in charge of escorting visitors around an estate. In Devon
several houses were particularly famous for their gardens. These included Mamhead,
Oxton, Saltram, and Ugbrooke, with 'magnificent trees and beautiful lawns', or
Watcombe Park, 'planted with nearly every cone tree that could be obtained'. 45 Glowing

descriptions were written in guide books and directories, for example at Endsleigh:

The view from the Terrace, - the Dairy dell, watered by a running stream: the
Alpine garden, with its Swiss Cottage; the numerous paths winding along the
banks of the Tamar, and the other sylvan attractions, are so enchantingly
disposed as to render Endsleigh one of the loveliest spots in Devonshire. The
beautiful lawn, gardens and pleasure grounds immediately encompassing the
mansion comprise about 20 acres and beyond them are about 1935 acres of
woods and coppices, and 1487 acres of plantations... 46

Tickets to view prestigious gardens were sold by local agents and a portion of the

takings distributed among the garden men.

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

Gardens became more elaborate with discrete areas connected, but hidden from each

other by ornamental shrubberies or trellis work and pergolas made of timber or stone.
These features created height in gardens and were covered by climbing plants, such as
roses, ivy and variegated creepers, which needed constant attention to maintain tidiness.

Thomas Yole, John Southcott and George Hendy at Endsleigh spent most of the year

'tying in creepers' and 'pruning' the plants that climbed the house, the pergolas and

trellis, as well as tending other trees and shrubs in the garden.

When bedding out became fashionable as a method to display geraniums, verbenas,
calceolarias and highly coloured plants, the gardener had an opportunity to design his
own colour combinations, bed size and shapes. Propagation and planting out thousands
of bedding plants created work for many gardeners in private gardens and parks, who
also had to keep the edges of multiple beds neatly trimmed. Colour wheels, based on the
colours of the rainbow were used to contrast or blend colour in the beds, or plants of a
similar shade were used to fill one bed at a time. 49 Bedding experiments led to
pincushion beds 'that are planted with a self-colour as a ground and dotted over with
contrasting plants', geranium pyramids and floral baskets. 50

The fashion for carpet bedding became very popular and quickly spread to public parks,
where competition was strong between park gardeners to produce the most elaborate
shapes and patterns. Trees and shrubs in many industrial cities succumbed to polluted
air and had to be replaced at regular intervals. Massed flowers could be planted in
different shapes, either flat or inclined, and the cost of re-making a bedding scheme was
only a fraction of that of replacing woodier plants. Ribbon beds were created alongside
paths with different species of plant for each strand, usually in a red, white and blue
pattern. To counteract criticism of massed bedding for its gaudy colours and lack of
subtlety, sub-tropical beds were introduced based on plants with dramatic foliage and
unusual leaf shapes such as the banana, or ferns, that were under-planted with coleus.
This style of planting, pioneered by John Gibson at Battersea Park, was especially

suited to sea-side parks and gardens.

As with all garden fashions, carpet bedding had its supporters and detractors. Shirley
Hibberd's complaint was that it only produced a good display for a short season, 'and
for the remaining nine months of the year it is a dreary blank'. 51 He suggested instead 'a
garden rich in trees and shrubs, with ample breadth of well-kept lawn or more use of

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

plants with distinctive leaf colour'. He recommended the use of perennials, hardy non-
native plants and low-maintenance naturalised bulbs. 52 William Robinson also objected
to summer bedding 'or marshalling the flowers in stiff lines and geometrical patterns,
[which] is entirely a thing of our own precious time, and "carpet" gardening is simply a
further remove in ugliness'. 53 While, in 1879, amateur gardener Henry Bright moaned:

I am heartily weary of the monotony of modern gardens, with their endless
Pelargoniums, Calceolarias, and Verbenas. Some few such beds I cannot of
course dispense with, but I am always glad when I can reclaim a bed for
permanent herbaceous plants. 54

Bright, instead of using the more common bedding plants to which he had taken a
strong dislike, planted individual beds with a single perennial species, such as Primula
japonica, nemophila, anemone, ranunculus, briar roses and lilies.

In 1885 the Beeton Book of Garden Management commented, 'in villa gardening at the

and

fashion had evolved to incorporate a variety of styles which included designs by
William Robinson, Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. Part of the arts and craft
movement, they were opposed to the artificiality of the bedding system with its mass
production of plants and garish 'unnatural' colours. After a three day visit to Bicton
gardens in 1865, Robinson declared he 'did not care for Mr. Barnes's house plants';
although he admired the flower garden, calling it an * open-air drawing room'. 57
Robinson thought glasshouses were an expensive waste of money and a refuge for lazy
gardeners. In 1900 he advised on the long terrace at Killerton, advocating the use of
yuccas and suggesting the removal of a greenhouse to be replaced with a 'pretty garden
of tea roses'. 58

Gertrude Jekyll was a lover of 'the beauties that are so often presented by little wayside
cottage gardens'. 59 One of the most important and influential women gardeners of the
nineteenth century, her theories of colour combining and herbaceous planting were
passed on through her writings and she became an inspiration to many. Jekyll worked
closely with Lutyens; her extravagant planting formed a contrast to the formality of the

hard landscaping of the architect. This was particularly effective at Hestercombe in
Somerset. Partly influenced by Jekyll, herbaceous borders became popular. Gardeners
who wished to change their borders were recommended to experiment first with the use

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

otherwise 'in attempting innovations the effects produced, although

startling enough, may be utterly bizarre and disagreeable'.

Glasshouses

Scientific advances, together with industrial and commercial growth affected garden
design and practices as they did other areas of Victorian society. The study of botany
had led to a better understanding of a plant's requirements for survival. This encouraged
gardeners to look for the cheapest and most effective methods of increasing light and
warmth in glasshouses. In 1816 Loudon invented a curved glazing bar in wrought iron,
the patent of which he sold to D. & E. Bailey in Holborn. 61 Joseph Paxton developed
Loudon's earlier ideas for ridge and furrow glazing, designed to catch maximum light
but which could be built with traditional wooden glazing bars. However, when he built
the Great Stove at Chatsworth, he combined both methods, creating a metal curvilinear

house with ridge and furrow glazing.

The cost of early glasshouses was always expensive even with local builders. When a
new greenhouse and a hothouse were constructed at Maristow during the years 1821 to
1823, the cost totalled almost one thousand pounds which was a huge capital outlay
compared with the amount paid for plants in the same period (£14.4s.6d). To put this
into context, garden labourers earned nine shillings a week, less than £24 a year, and the
head gardener, Martin Curley, earned just £40 annually. 62

In 1847 James Hartley developed a process which made it possible to manufacture large
sheets of clear unblemished glass. This, if fitted correctly, evened out the temperature
between the top and the bottom of the greenhouse, where there had previously been a
discrepancy of up to fifteen degrees. 63 Prior to this there had been only two types of
glass suitable for glasshouses. Broad glass was neither entirely flat nor had the same
thickness within sheets and contained air-bubbles and other imperfections. The
alternative, which Keith Lemmon claims was preferred by gardeners, was Crown glass
which was spun by hand. 64 This produced smaller, greenish panes with a slight
curvature, but let through insufficient light which caused the plants to become drawn.
Light was also lost by the numbers of fixing bars needed to hold the small panes and by
dust gathering in the overlaps. Larger panes, although effective in letting through more
light, required shading in summer which created different problems for gardeners, and a
job for their wives in sewing blinds. 65

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

The most common method of fixing the panes was with putty and glazing pins. By 1 870

a thermo-plastic putty had been invented, which allowed for expansion of iron bars

without breaking the glass. 66 For maintenance, it was recommended that greenhouses be

painted with lead-free oxide paint from the Torbay Paint Company. It was reputedly
without fumes that could be fatal to plants, had good coverage and, supposedly, lasted

three times as long as lead paint. For the discerning, it came in seventy different shades

and colours 67

Early flued walls, used to heat glasshouses, gave way to steam heating which, in its
turn, was superseded by the more efficient method of hot water heating. Boilers such as
Week's patent tubular boilers, which could heat up to 750 feet of four-inch pipe, were
introduced in the 1830s. Easy to clean and maintain, they were guaranteed for a
minimum often years but generally lasted much longer. 68

Ownership of glasshouses, palm and orchid houses and conservatories became one of
the fashion statements of the Victorian age, encouraged by Loudon who stated, 'a
Greenhouse, Orangery, or Conservatory, ought if possible, to be attached to every
suburban residence' 69 For the wealthy they held huge exotic plants, orchids and ferns
from all over the world. James Barnes, head gardener at Bicton, listed in 1842 the
contents of thirteen glass houses on the estate which included the Heath House, Palm
House, and the New Holland House, most of which held a variety of exotic plants from
camellias to bananas. For estates with a comprehensive glasshouse range 'the
expenditure on the Glass Houses... [was] always a heavy item'. 71 Bicton annual garden
accounts show that in 1854 'John Penny, Painter' was paid £43.6s.8d for painting the
glasshouses; in 1856 he received £91.15s.3d and in 1858 he was paid £42.10s for
painting the orangery. Glaziers were paid from a separate account.

Reduced building costs brought conservatories within the reach of middle class
gardeners; some were just large enough to house a few ferns, others housed tea roses, a
favourite flower of the Victorians. For those who could not afford, or did not have the
space for a conservatory, a Wardian case could be used to display ferns indoors. The
sealed atmosphere of the case was also ideal to protect indoor plants from the fumes of

coal fires and gas lamps.

Specialist equipment such as hygrometers were developed to register heat and humidity;

watering and careful monitoring were needed to protect large numbers of plants now in

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

danger of leaf burn. Apprentices and young j ourneymen gardeners were needed to open

and close ventilation systems to regulate the temperature in houses. The number of
bothies increased to enable them to live near to the glasshouses which were tended day
and night.

New skills (of indoor gardening) had to be developed, to propagate large numbers of
plants and to breed and hybridise exotics. Gardeners could spend the whole day
working in glasshouses, which though comfortable for plants was tiring for the men.
Robert Aughtie found working in the grand conservatory at Chatsworth 'hot and
unhealthy'. He recorded the temperature at 94 degrees Fahrenheit on 18 March 1849.

He was not the only one who suffered:

To be in a stove temperature during winter and spring varied by an occasional
week or so in a cold house and looking after fires in the generally ill-fitted stoke-
holes usually full of dust and sulphur while the fires are being attended to, are a
state of things likely to try the constitution of the hardiest. 75

Glasshouse or 'indoor' gardeners worked regularly on a Sunday to tend and monitor
'house' plants. This was usually done by apprentices or stokers, but at Chatsworth
someone was also needed to act as foreman and to show visitors around. 76 Aughtie
worked on Sundays every six to eight weeks in the Conservatory, sharing duties with
several colleagues. This compared with the fortnightly Sunday morning duty when he
moved to the glasshouse range in the kitchen gardens from November 1849. 77

The development of glasshouses, conservatories, and better boiler technology, which
provided warmth for germination and protection for cuttings, encouraged the increase in
importation of tender plants. Ambassadors and travellers had brought back cuttings and
seeds from their visits abroad since medieval times and in the seventeenth century the
Tradescants travelled round Europe, Africa, Russia and America, collecting plant
material from the wild and sending specimens to London. The advent of the Wardian
case in the 1830s, sponsored by Loddiges of Hackney, ensured the survival of many
more plant seedlings, which no longer died on long sea voyages home but survived in
sealed glass cabinets. 78 Loddiges was the leading nursery sending out plant-hunters in
the first half of the nineteenth century, but did not survive beyond the middle 1850s.
Their mantle was taken up and superseded by the firm of Veitch and Sons of Exeter and

London, who from 1840 until 1905 sent out twenty two plant hunters to bring back new
species from across the globe 79 The Veitch nurserymen of Exeter trialled many new

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

varieties in the mild climates of Devon and Cornwall, working closely with local head

gardeners. Nurseries were quick to utilise scientific advances relating to the
understanding of plant growth and reproduction and employed hybridizers such as John
Dominy, who worked with Veitch in Exeter and London, to increase the hardiness, the

colour and the range of plants.

Although Devon gardens held plenty of glasshouses, many new introductions survived
without the need for heat and cover because of the mild climate. Citrus fruit had been
grown in the county since (about) the 1760s with plants raised in pots. 80 These were
over-wintered in orangeries and put out in the summer when there was no chance of a
frost. At Coombe Royal a freestanding wall of arches was constructed for the sole
purpose of growing outdoor citrus fruit and in 1864 a local guide book stated:

The orange walk presents great attractions to strangers, unaccustomed as they
probably are to the sight of oranges, lemons and citrons flourishing in the open
air and bringing their fruit to perfection with only the occasional protection of
straw mats placed against the recesses in the walls at night. 81

It is not certain when the wall was built, but Loudon commented on the quality of the
citrus fruit in 1842 when he visited Devon and had published an account of the wall in

the Gardener 's Magazine in 1 834. Other gardens in the county which supported citrus

fruit grown outside were at Woodcot, Salcombe where 'orange, citron, lemon and lime
trees [were] thriving in the open (but provided with glass protectors and slides if

required),' and at Widicombe, also near the coast, where citrus fruit was reputedly
grown permanently on outdoor walls as early as 1 8 1 9. 83

Parks and Public Gardens

From the 1 870s, following in royal footsteps, private gardens became venues for social
gatherings of the gentry:

Mr. and Mrs. Thornton West of Streatham Hall, gave a garden party yesterday in
their magnificent grounds. More than one hundred of the elite of the city and
county were present. 84

Garden parties soon became fund raisers for local charities. Topsham Church
Restoration Fund benefited from the party held by Mrs Hamilton in the garden of The
Retreat in 1 875 and by another held by the Greatwoods at Broadway House. Special

occasions such as weddings, the opening of a new railway line and meetings of

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

Freemasons and local societies were also celebrated with garden parties. 85 The head
gardener was often mentioned in local newspaper reports of these events as it was his
responsibility to ensure that the gardens were looking their best and that these functions
ran smoothly.

For the poor, however, there were few open spaces, especially in urban areas, that were
accessible for working class sports like football and cricket, which in any case were
frowned upon by reformers for their rowdiness. 86 Inner cities were places of dirt,
disease and crime. Exeter had its overcrowded tenements which led to a cholera

87 *

epidemic in 1832 where one in twenty were struck down by the disease. While
members of the middle class could and did escape to the suburbs, encouraged by local
transport, the poor had no such option. Early Victorian philanthropists believed
'zymotic' diseases were transmitted by the polluted atmosphere of towns, therefore
parks were needed to act as lungs to provide wholesome air. As early as 1833 the Select
Committee on Public Walks had complained about the lack of open spaces available in
towns. At a time of social unrest, park promoters suggested that areas to provide fresh
air and exercise, mental stimulation and an opportunity to meet a mix of people would
also help to relieve social tension. Exeter was luckier than most cities as one of the
earliest public walks had been created in 1612 at Northernhay, however, there was still a
shortage of space for the poor. 88 The Exeter Flying Post, in true campaigning mode,
enthusiastically endorsed the notion of providing pleasure grounds:

and

and Youth find an

J 0 W

place for healthful pastime.

On a more practical note, they also hoped that pleasure gardens would 'render the city

more agreeable to strangers [visitors]'.

The opening of parks gave head gardeners, especially those who had worked with
Paxton, such as Edward Milner, John Gibson and Edward Kemp, opportunities as
designers. They also supplied business for local nurserymen who were responsible for
providing and planting the new public areas.

Parks were designed to be used as educational facilities, for leisure, for healthy exercise
and a place where the whole family could spend time together. However, in case not all
people acted in what was considered an appropriate manner, rules were imposed for

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

their use. In addition to their gardening duties, park gardeners and keepers were sworn
in as special constables to keep order, especially on a Sunday when the working class
might visit. The pleasure grounds on the Hoe at Plymouth had thirty bye-laws; some
related to the planting schemes, exhorting visitors to keep off the flower beds, not to
pick or remove plants and flowers or to cut the turf, neither was soil to be disturbed or
removed. Football, quoits, bowls, hockey and cricket were allowed, but onlv in

specified areas and no game was to last longer than two hours.

Torquay was famous for its 'un-English' plants, which included eucalyptus, palm,
bamboo and yucca which thrived in its mild climate. 91 The many parks and gardens of
the tourist towns created openings for park and jobbing gardeners as well as boosting
the trade of local nurserymen. Steamer transport brought visitors to Ilfracombe and
North Devon from Bristol, South Wales and Liverpool 92 The railways increased the
numbers of visitors to the county, many of whom spent their time bathing, walking and

taking many

their own gardens and homes.

Winter gardens became popular following the success of the Crystal Palace as a venue
for the Great Exhibition in 1851. Huge glassed pavilions were filled with flowers and
ornamental plants; they contained areas for walking, reading, galleries and genteel
entertainment, and helped to extend the tourist season. As with other botanical or

zoological gardens, they were only available to members who subscribed to their
upkeep, or on payment of an entrance fee. 93 They were usually closed on Sunday, the
only day in the week that the working class had for leisure. Some nurserymen opened

their own botanic gardens to showcase their plants in natural surroundings. William

Rendle's Royal Botanical Garden in Union Street, Plymouth attracted thousands of

visitors to its opening in July 1850 94 Magdalen House Classical and Polytechnic School

in Exeter had opened its own botanic garden as an educational facility in 1848 95
William Duncan, head gardener, at Trelowarren, in Cornwall summed up the
importance of these gardens as an educational facility:

The object of this garden connects itself not only with the study of the veg
world, but with an endeavour to infuse a scientific knowledge of plants ii
empirical agriculture of the community amongst which it is situated

nursery for the development of all those plants

will

history.

botany as a branch of natural

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

Park keepers or superintendents lived in lodges at the entrances of the parks. They were
responsible for the administration of the park as well as overseeing garden and
maintenance work. In Brighton one of the responsibilities of the park staff was also care
of local street trees. 97 The numbers of staff varied according to the season and the size
of park; prestigious areas which attracted tourists, or a better class of person, had more
work time spent on them. 98 Grass cutting was one of the most laborious and time
consuming jobs, although the process was speeded up with the use of machines (see
Chapter Three). The emphasis on neatness and high standards of maintenance was
thought to influence park visitors to dress well and behave with decorum. Many plants
discarded at the end of the season, were distributed to the poor in an effort to brighten
their lives. Whether the poor had any means for keeping the plants alive is debatable
and one wonders how many plants found their way into the glasshouses or gardens of
the clergy and other officials in charge of their collection.

Summary

Reaction to diseases such as typhoid and cholera created an interest in healthier living
and the Vegetarian Society was formed to encourage growing, cooking and eating more
vegetables. The increased wages of the working classes in the last quarter of the century
meant they too demanded more variety of fruit and vegetables from growers. As the
century wore on competition from cheap imported food brought into the country in
refrigerated trucks gave more choice to the urban dweller. This had the effect of raising
the quality of locally grown produce and ensured growers placed more emphasis on the
production of rarer varieties or out of season vegetables and fruit. The growth in the
number of market gardens which surrounded towns and cities, coupled with transport of

produce not grown locally, ensured that by the end of the nineteenth century a vegetable
garden, which was expensive to maintain, assumed second place to the pleasure garden
and in some cases was let out or sold. 100 Conspicuous spending on non-essentials also
helped change the emphasis away from productive gardens to pleasure gardens.
Victorian gardens were exuberant creations which made use of new plants and bulbs to
extend the colourful life of a garden from spring displays to autumn colour.

Estate gardens were split into discrete departments which gave an opportunity for

gardeners to specialise rather than being generalists. The increase in the numbers of
glasshouses in gardens and nurseries required new skills from gardeners. Head

/■^UNIVERSITY OF

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century | J \^J \ 51

Ubrary

gardeners such as Mr James Griffin (Cowley House, Exeter) and Mr Charles Booth
(Downes) who exhibited at horticultural shows received the appellation 'Scientific and
clever'. 101 Glasshouse staff, responsible for mass production of bedding plants, or care
and hybridization of expensive exotics, became more important than the kitchen
gardener who moved down the scale from being the most valued at the beginning of the
century to the least valued by the end.

With their wealth, and their determination to compete with the aristocracy and gentry, it
was the middle class enthusiasts in their new gardens who took advantage of the flood
of imported and hybridised plants and who drove garden fashions. Even quite small
gardens were planted with individual specimen trees such as the Briars in Alphington,
which also contained a short monkey puzzle avenue imitating the much longer avenue
at Bicton. A gardener was an essential member of staff, even if his role had to be
combined with that of a coachman. Estate gardens were modified according to usage,
necessity and finance. Apart from a few showcase gardens there would have been no
need to radically change established gardens unless ownership of the estate changed
through a sale, marriage or inheritance, when a new owner would have put his or her
personal stamp onto the garden.

The rise in the number of public parks and gardens, and hotels with pleasure grounds to
attract and keep tourists in the region, not only needed garden staff to create and
maintain them, but many also incorporated their own horticultural departments to
reduce the expense of purchasing stock for ornamental beds. To prosper as a
professional gardener, however, there was a need to keep abreast of new developments

and to combine new skills with a variety of practical experience.

1 George Glenny, Glenny 9 s Hand-book of Practical Gardening (London, 1850), 1.

2 Dr. Lindley, 'Messrs Veitch's Exotics' in Exeter Flying Post (EFP) 18.09.1851, 8b. Originally printed

in the Gardener's Chronicle (GC).

3 Shirley Hibberd, The Amateur 9 s Flower Garden: A Handy Guide to the Formation and Management of

the Flower Garden and the Cultivation of Garden Flowers (London, 1871), 34.

4 Torquay and Tor Directory and General Advertiser 10.04.1846, 3a.

5 Malcolm Dunn, *The Relations Between Gardeners and Their Employers*, Journal of the Royal
Horticultural Society xvii, (1894), 86-95, 87-88.

6 North Devon Record Office (NDRO) B470/21.

7 EFP 14.08.1856, le,4f.

8 J.C. Loudon, The Suburban Gardener and Villa Companion (London, 1838), 2, 36-7, 172.

9 Edward Kemp, The Hand-book of Gardening, for the Use of All Persons Who Possess a Garden of
Limited Extent 10 th edn (London, 1851).

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

10 Gardener's Magazine (GM) 9 (1833), 208-10.

11 GM, 19(1843), 241.

12 Plymouth and West Devon Record Office (PWDRO) 69/M/6/155-6.

13 PWDRO 69/M/6/124.

14 Humphry Repton, The Art of Landscape Gardening (1 803), ed by John Nolan (Boston & Ne\
1907), 142.

13 Richard Payne Knight, An Analytical Inquiry into the Principles of Taste 3 rd edn (London, 1 8

16 Powderham Castle Archives C/2/7 Box 3.

17 James McPhail, The Gardener's Remembrancer Throughout the Year, Exhibiting the Newest
Improved Methods of Manuring, Digging Sowing, Planting Pruning and Training (London, 1 1

18 J. C. Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (London, 1822), 253.

19 George Plumptre, The Garden Makers: The Great Tradition of Garden Design from 1600 to
Present Day (London, 1993), 96.

20 Andrew Clayton-Payne and Brent Elliott, Victorian Flower Gardens (London, 1988), 7.

21 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 75.

22 Repton, Landscape Gardening, 163.

23 Loudon, Suburban Gardener, 164-6.

24 Devon Record Office (DRO) 316 add 3M/FA14/22 (1834).

25 Ladv Rolle won three Pinus soecies in a ballot in 1861 see Proceedings of the Raval Harticu,

William Barron, The British Winter Garden (London,

GA/8(1842), 553.
21 Journal of Horticulture andCottage Gardener 21.01.1862, 338.

28 PWDRO 540/14/6; 74/375; GM 18 (1842), 542.

29 EFP 06.08.1779.

30 DRO 1508M Devon/Estate/Account Books V17 Powderham Tradesmen's Ledger.

31 EFP 17.03.1785, 2d.

32 PWDRO 874/2/2; GM\9 (1843), 242; The Gardener's Magaz/m?,14.10.1882, 546.

33 Wilson Flagg, 'The Topiary Art', The Magazine of Horticulture, Botany and all Useful discoveries and
Improvement in Rural Affairs (Boston, 1859), 266-270.

34 Glenny, Practical Gardening 345.

33 Its use also demonstrated that an owner was wealthy enough to employ a gardener to clip the * greens'.

36 See GM 15 (1839), 379; Jane Loudon, The Ladies' Companion to the Flower Garden (London, 1841).
58, 118, 21 1, 290; Shirley Hibberd, The Town Garden: A Manual for the Management of City and
Suburban Gardens (London, 1855), 25.

37 William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon including the City of Exeter
(Sheffield & London, 1850), 253.

38 EFP 29.05.1 856, 3e. Entrance was by ticket only, and steamers came from Teignmouth and Dawlish tc
bring visitors to the garden.

39 D.M. Stirling, The Beauties of the Shore: Or, A Guide to the Watering-Places on the South-East Coast
ofDevon (Exeter, 1838), 118.

4 T.C. Paris, A Hand-book for Travellers in Devon and Cornwall (London, 1 85 1), 26.
41 Reed Hall of the University of Exeter.

42 £F/>5.08.1852, 8f.

43 EFP 26.08.1852, 4b-c.

44 Adrian Tinniswood, The Polite Tourist: A History of Country House Visiting (London, 1998), 91.
43 Cockrem 's Guide to Torquay and its Neighbourhood ( 1 840), 26, 196.

46 White's (1&501 622.

47 DRO 7140 (96M) East Devon Rental and Account, 1887, 1891.

48 DRO 3610Z and add/1.

49 The Cottage Gardener 2 (1849), 262; David Thomson, Handy Book of The Flower-Garden 3 rd edn.
(Edinburgh and London, 1876), 337.

50 Thomson, Flower Garden, 381-2.

51 Hibberd, Amateur's Flower Garden, 33.

52 Hibberd, Amateur's Flower Garden, 5, 17.

53 William Robinson, The English Flower Garden 6 th edn (London, 1898), 12.

54 Henry A. Bright A Year in a Victorian Garden (London 1989), 54. First published as A Year in a
Lancashire Garden (London, 1879).

55 Bright, A Year, 70, 84.

* S. O. Beeton, The Book of Garden Management [1 885] facsimile edn (Hertfordshire, 1985), 1 8.
jg W. Robinson, 'The Grounds and Gardens at Bicton', EFP 20.12.1865, 6d/e reprinted from GC

DRO 1148M/Box 1 8/4 Letters from William Robinson to Sir Thomas Acland 27.01.1900 and
1 0*03 » 1 900»

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

59 Gertrude Jekyll, Colour Schemes for the Flower Garden [1908] repr. (Woodbridge, 1990), 246.

60 The Country Gentlemen's Catalogue of Requisites for the house, field, farm, garden, stable, kennel &c.
[1884] repr. (London cl969), 15-16.

61 It was this company that built the first free standing curvilinear glasshouse at Breton Hall, Yorkshire in
1827 at a huge cost of £14,500, see Tom Carter, The Victorian Garden (London, 1984), 72.

62 PWDRO 874/3/23-25.

63 Annals of Horticulture and Year-Book of Information on Practical Gardening for 1848 (London,
1848), 574-5.

64 Kenneth Lemmon, The Covered Garden (London, 1962), 88-89.

65 Emma Northmore was paid 3 s for helping to make four conservatory blinds in April 1 874 at Maristow,
see PWDRO 874/24/2.

66 The Gardener (1870), 96.

67 Proprietors Messrs. Stevens & Co. of 26 Billiter Street, London. The Oxide came from Brixham in

Devon; Beeton, Garden Management, 395.

68 Beeton, Garden Management, 427.

69 Loudon, Suburban, 108.

70 GA/18 (1842), 564, 617; GM 19 (1843), 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 33.

71 DRO 96M Box 30/6 Letter from Robert Lipscombe, Agent to Mark Rolle, January 21 1871; DRO 7140
(96M) Bicton Rental and Accounts 1854, 1856 and 1858.

72 DRO 7140 (96M) Bicton Rental and Accounts 1854, 1856 and 1858.

73 J. Birkenhead, Ferns and Fern Culture, 2 nd edn (Manchester, 1897), 73.

74 Basil and Jessie Harley, A Gardener at Chatsworth: Three Years in the Life of Robert Aughtie 1848-
1850 (Worcestershire, 1992), 100, 144.

75 J., The Garden, 22.02.1902, 117.

76 In 1849, following the opening of the Midland Railway from Derby, Chatsworth had 80,000 summer
visitors, this increased further when the line reached Manchester in 1863 see Tinniswood, Polite Tourist,
152.

77 Harley and Harley, A Gardener (Worcestershire, 1992), 168,

78 David Solman, Loddiges of Hackney: The largest hothouse in the world (London, 1995), 44-45.

79 James H. Veitch, Hortus Veitchii: A History of The Rise and Progress of the Nurseries of Messrs.
James Veitch and Sons, Together with an Account of the Botanical Collectors and Hybridists Employed

bv Them and a List of The Most Remarkable of Their Introductions (Chelsea, 1906), 36.

8 ° PWDRO 74/623 Letters from Charlotte Bastard of Kitley 1763; DRO 1 148M add 23/E1 ; Richard

Polwhele, The History of Devonshire 1793-1806 III (London, 1806), 271-2.

50.

mrhood (Kingsbridge & London

GM 10 (1834), 36; GA/18 (1842), 539; Kingsbridge andSalcombe with the Intermediate Estuary
Historically and Topographically Depicted (London and Exeter, 1819), 86.

83 DRO 1182M/Z1 Sales Catalogue 1896.

84 EFP 20.09.1871, 5f; 24.07.1872, 5d, Colonel and Mrs Studd at Oxton; 24.07.1872, 7f, Mark Rolle at
Stevenstone; 21.08.1872, 7e, Mr & Mrs W. H. Peters at Harefield.

83 EFP 25.08.1 875, 4b; EFP 17.07.1878, 5£

86 James Walvin, Leisure and Society 1830-1950 (London, 1978), 3.

87 Todd Gray, The Victorian Underclass of Exeter (Exeter, 2001), 13.

88 EFP 10.04.1845, 2e, 3b.

89 EFP 10.04.1845, 2e, 3b.

90 Bye-Laws Made by the Mayor, Aldermen & Burgesses of the Borough of Plymouth Acting by the
Council as the Urban Sanitary Authority with Respect to Pleasure Grounds (Plymouth, 1888).

91 United Devon Association, The Book of Fair Devon (Exeter, 1899-1900), 62.
" The Handbook of North Devon (Exeter, cl858) 45, 57.

™EFP 17.07.1851,7a; 8.06.1881, 7f.
94 £FP01.08.1850, 5d.

95 EFP 20.01.1848, 2d.

96 William Duncan, 'Account of the Botanic Flower Garden now forming at Trelowarren for the culture
of hardy plants', GM6 (1830), 420-423, 420-421.

Viginia Hinze, Brighton Parks Department: An exploration of its early history and of its formative
Superintendent, Captain Bertie Hubbard MacLaren*, Post Graduate Diploma, Brighton, 1994, 12.

98 Hinze, *Brifihton\ 12.

The Gardener's Magazine, 14.10.1882, 546.

100 £Fp 20.08.1892, lb. Farringdon House Gar

101 EFP 02.06.1842, 4e.

Chapter One: The Eclectic Century

CHAPTER TWO

'No Objection to go to Any Part': Mobility of Gardeners,

Physical and Social

Introduction
Identification of Gardeners
Movement Between Parishes
Reasons for Moving From One Position to Another

Recruitment
Social Mobility
Education of Gardeners
Practical Education
Apprentices
Journeymen
The Aged Gardener

Summary

CHAPTER TWO

'No Objection to go to Any Part': Mobility of Gardeners, Physical and Social

The period of apprenticeship being finished, that of journeyman commences, and
continues, or ou^ht to continue till the man is at least twenty-five years of age. 1

The career structure of a successful professional gardener ensured that as he moved
from work-place to work-place and progressed upwards through the garden hierarchy,
he also rose in status, from predominantly working class to, at the top of his profession,
the middle class. Gardeners were part of a mobile work-force moving in and out of and
around the county often covering long distances. It would be expected that most
gardeners would move at least once in their lives, even if it was simply to leave their
father's house to set up their own establishment. In fact many young people in Devon
left home to serve as farm servants or garden boys, before becoming garden apprentices

and starting a series of moves taking them up the career ladder. 2

Introduction

John Burnett claims that during the nineteenth century large numbers of working people
frequently moved, changing jobs, being promoted, becoming unemployed, or seeking
their fortune and that they viewed themselves as free agents in control of their
destinies. 3 Improved roads, the advent of railways, and increased education had led to
more mobility in the working class as they followed jobs. A definition of migration, as a
'residential change of a permanent or semi-permanent nature', has been proposed by Ian
Whyte who suggests that if 4 a person has moved once [this] may have predisposed them

to move again'. 4 It was true that many servants and agricultural labourers moved
regularly, mostly within a twenty-five mile radius of their birthplace. 5 The exception
was for career servants who worked for the upper classes and aristocracy. These men

and women travelled many miles to find work with a prestigious family. Gardeners
though, as Jessica Gerard argues, were part of a distinct labour market with a higher
degree of mobility than other career servants. 6 This suggests that there were different
patterns of movement connected with the occupation of a gardener. Many strove to
reach the highest position they could within the garden hierarchy. They either retired
successfully as head gardeners, moved into another branch of the profession or lived out
their lives as practical working gardeners, continuing to work part-time when no longer

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

capable of working full-time. Some returned to labouring as younger men with the most
up-to-date knowledge and skills took their place.

The purpose of this chapter is to explain to what extent professional gardeners, with

their discrete occupation patterns, moved from job to job and to consider some of the

reasons why they did so. The constant movement had lifestyle implications, such as late
marriage and smaller families. An argument will be made that mobility was more a
matter of economic necessity and ambition than exercising freedom of choice.

For this study gardeners have been divided into eight classes. Head gardeners (HG)
managed a garden; those on their way up the career ladder worked with few or no staff;
those at the top of their profession supervised a workforce of under-gardeners and
labourers. Most head gardeners worked in the private sector as servants as did domestic
gardeners (GD). The latter were the apprentices, journeymen and foremen who were
working their way towards the eventual goal of a headship. Jobbing gardeners (JG),
gardeners (G) and garden labourers (GL) were employed in both the private and
commercial sector on a daily or weekly basis or to complete a specific task. Gardeners
non-domestic (GND), market gardeners (MG) and nurserymen (N) were principally
commercial gardeners. This category includes those who were self-employed,
proprietors or owners of a commercial undertaking as well as those who worked within
the industry. However, many of these men and women moved between the different
branches of the profession, making it difficult to generalise about one particular section
of gardeners.

Identification of Gardeners

Using census material, parish and estate records, directories and other primary
resources, it has been possible to identify over 15,000 gardeners who worked in Devon
during the nineteenth century. Listed on a database, these include garden boys and
garden women, those that worked in private gardens, nurseries and market gardens. Not
surprisingly, information from the database shows that slightly more than eighty-one
per cent of the gardeners listed were bom in the county. The remainder originated from
out of the county with just over one per-cent born in Europe, or outposts of the British
Empire as well as from Scotland, Ireland and Wales. 7 Twelve and a half per-cent came
from forty different counties in England, not including Devon. 8 The remaining five per-

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part'

cent of birthplaces are still unknown. As can be seen from Figure 2:1, when plotted at
ten year intervals, these figures do not alter significantly over the second half of the

century.

The majority of out of county gardeners came from counties which bordered Devon;
twenty-eight per cent from Cornwall, nine per cent from Dorset and twenty per cent
from Somerset. Four per cent were bom in London, the same from Gloucestershire and
Hampshire. This suggests that most movement into the county was regional.

Figure 2:1. Known birthplaces of gardeners who worked in Devon during the
nineteenth century

□ Devon

□ Other countries

□ Other counties

Source: Gardener database.

On further analysis it is possible to see that within the discrete branches of the
gardening profession there were differences in the amount of movement from parish to
parish, or county to county. Figures from the database suggest that garden labourers,

frequently little more than agricultural labourers who happened to work in a garden,

moved least. This is in line with Gerard's findings. In the sample she analysed, she
found that eighty-nine per cent of garden labourer's children were born in the parish of
the country house at which they worked. Whereas this study, which covered the whole
of the county of Devon, found that seventy per cent of children of garden labourers were
born in the same parish. 9 A further twenty four per cent had moved parish at least once
and only six per cent had moved twice or more. Some gardeners were listed as garden

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

labourers on enumerators' returns, while some garden labourers were listed as
'agricultural' or 'general labourers' which could explain, in part, the discrepancy
between the findings of this study and that of Gerard.

Movement Between Parishes

As can be seen from Figure 2:2, private gardeners were more likely to have moved into
Devon to take up their post, and were more than twice as likely as garden labourers to
have been bom out of county. Apart from garden labourers, market gardeners and non-
domestic gardeners moved the least. This was because many had small holdings, often
family run, with the business passed down from father to son (see Chapter Five).

Figure 2:2. Known birthplaces of different classes of gardeners

All HG GD N JG G GND MG GL

Source: Gardener database.

When comparing head gardeners with the rest of those on the database, results show
that sixty-eight per cent were born in Devon in contrast with eighty-five per cent for all
gardeners. There was a high proportion of Scottish men as Scots gardeners were highly
prized; they were considered to be 'better educated' than English gardeners. 10 The
remainder came from thirty-two counties all over Britain. Their wives came from
sixteen counties and four different countries, but that is saying more about their
migratory movements than that of their husbands; many had previously been servants.

Chapter Two: 4 No Objection to go to Any Part'

For the purposes of illustrating the mobility of professional gardeners a sample of 279
head gardeners listed in Devon census records, who had had children and who had
worked in the county, was chosen. These records were used to work backwards to
determine how many moves had been made on the way up the career ladder. To do this,
census returns were checked to see how frequently a man had moved from one ten year
period to another. Added to this was an analysis of the birthplaces of their children to

determine how frequently their fathers had moved within the ten years; plus any other
information gleaned from additional sources. The results show that thirty-six per cent of
this sample had lived in a minimum of two different parishes, seventeen per cent in
three and a farther eighteen per cent in four or more parishes in addition to their parish f
birth, (see Figure 2:3 below). Only eight per cent appeared to have remained in their
parish of birth and the remaining twenty-one per cent had moved parish at least once.

Figure 2:3. The number of places in which head gardeners in the sample are
known to have worked in addition to their parish of birth

□ Parish of Birth

■ 1 Pansh

□ 2 Parishes
D 3 Parishes

■ 4 Parishes

■ 5 Panshes
■6 Panshes

□ 7 Parishes

■ 8 Parishes

Source: Gardener database.

Using these sources will not give exact figures but only show trends. As the census was
only taken every ten years, some children such as those of Amaziah Saul, head gardener
at Castle Hill from approximately 1839 to 1861, did not appear in the census because
they had died. 11 C hildren from other parents would have left home or were living with
another relative. However, the results show that a significant number of head gardeners
had moved on a regular basis after they had had children. Two of these men are known
to have worked in at least seven different places; for example, Thomas German was

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part' 60

born in Torquay. He began work at Maristow, as a garden boy; from there he moved to

Edgbaston in Warwickshire, followed by moves to Staffordshire and Worcestershire.
He returned to Devon and Tamerton Foliot, then worked at Honicknowle and, in 1901,
was living in Plymouth. Evidence from national obituaries of some of the more
successful head gardeners suggests this was not unusual, with gardeners moving
frequently to better themselves. 12 For example, John Wills, who was considered to be
one of the finest floral decorators of his time, was bom at Chard in Somerset in 1832.
He began work at Cricket St Thomas but moved from there to a variety of gardens
eventually becoming a nurseryman in London aged thirty-eight. By this time he had
worked in nine different gardens throughout the country, 13

A gardener could be in the same parish in two consecutive census returns, but that does
not mean that he remained in the same garden for those ten years. He could have moved
within the parish or out of the parish and back in again. Frequent moves meant some
gardeners who worked in Devon do not show in any of the county returns because they
were not living in the county when a census was taken. Samuel Barker, for example,

worked at two nurseries, a horticultural college and four gardens including Winslade
Garden in Devon before becoming head gardener at Clumber House, Nottinghamshire
from 1899 to 1935. 14 He does not appear on any Devon census return. Neither does
Emanuel Culley, listed in the Horticultural Directory (1870): he had worked at Strete
Raleigh, Whimple, in the late 1860s, having previously been at Hackney. By the time
the 1871 census was taken he was working at Baildon in Yorkshire. 15 Therefore the
numbers of moves presented are a minimum, based on actual evidence found.

Many head gardeners would also have moved from job to job before getting married.
For example, of over one hundred journeymen and apprentice gardeners who trained in
some of Devon's more prestigious gardens such as Castle Hill, By stock, Bicton and

Flete, or in the Veitch or Lucombe nurseries in Exeter, thirty one per cent came from
other counties (see Figure 2:4). Forty-three per cent of the total remained in Devon;
thirty one per cent as gardeners and twelve per cent as head gardeners. Albert
Ballhatchet, for example, trained at Poltimore, worked at Streatham Hall from 1 872 to
1876, then became head gardener to the Bishop of Exeter, working in both Devon and at
the Bishop's Palace in Fulham. 16 The majority of gardeners who trained in Devon
moved to work in gardens across Britain. 17 They did not stay in the county to work
unless they found a position as a head gardener; eight per cent of this sample returned to

Chapter Two: 4 No Objection to go to Any Part*

their parish of birth to work. John Bartlett from High Wycombe who trained in the

bothy at Castle Hill became a head gardener at Bridekirk in Cumberland and Thomas
Shingles from Lillingstone, Buckinghamshire went from Bicton to eventually become
head gardener at Tortworth in Gloucestershire, Another Bicton trained gardener,
William Truelove, went to work at Kew, where he spent the remainder of his working
life. A Devon bom gardener from Bere Ferrers, Richard Nicholas, was a foreman in the
bothy at Castle Hill in 1881 and, unusually, went on to become the head gardener there.
Records have been found of over two hundred other gardeners who were bom in Devon,
but worked in other counties, proving the movement was two ways.

Figure 2:4. Movement of some gardeners who trained in Devon

Gardeners who trained in Devon

Devon born remaining in Devon as gardeners

Devon born remaining in Devon as head gardeners

Devon born working out of county as gardeners

Devon born working out of county as head gardeners

2.5

Devon born working out of county, but not gardening

2.5

Out of county men remaining in Devon as gardeners

Out of county men remaining in Devon as head gardeners

Out of county men working out of county as gardeners

Out of county men working out of county as head gardeners

Out of county men working out of county, but not gardening

112

100

Source: Gardener database and census returns.

Reasons for Moving from One Position to Another

The most important reason for gardeners to make regular moves was the professional
requirements of the career gardener. John Loudon suggested that following an

apprenticeship a journeyman gardener needed to acquire as much work experience as
possible:-

During this period, he ought not to remain above one year in any one situation;
thus, supposing he has completed his apprenticeship in a private garden at the
age of twenty-one, and that his ultimate object is to become a head-gardener, he
ought first to engage himself a year in a public botanic garden; the next year in a

Chapter Two: «No Objection to go to Any Part'

arsery; that following, he should again enter a private garden, and
making yearly changes in the most eminent of this class of gardens, till
with a situation as head- gardener. 19

The necessity to train in different garden departments was still felt to be important in
1 897 when James Mayne, head gardener to the Hon. Mark Rolle at Bicton, stated:

commencing to learn

two

and then under glass. His first duty

would be to get an insight into airing, shading, and watering. He should spend
one year at least in the plant and another year or more in the fruit department
The learner should then, if possible, move into another county, as climatic
conditions varies greatly. 20

Although Mayne seems to suggest that a gardener could remain within one garden for
most of his training, this was not always possible in smaller Devon gardens. As
demonstrated above, some men did move regularly, if not annually as recommended by
Loudon. As they travelled from one garden to another, gardeners hoped to gain
experience of work in the kitchen garden, the frame yard, in glasshouses which held
fruit and early vegetables or exotic plants from ferns to orchids. They needed to acquire
knowledge of plant breeding and hybridisation; to be able to propagate thousands of
bedding plants and know how to produce fruit and vegetables out of season. As Mayne

an important

building a gardener's experience for future planning.

Experience of commercial gardening was also important. This enabled a gardener to
learn about production on a large scale in the most economic fashion and many lessons
learned in market gardens or nurseries were taken back to be adapted for a gentleman's
garden. Work in a nursery would enable a man to learn about plant breeding and
propagation and the requirements for some of the new exotics entering the country. He
also had the opportunity to build good relationships with specialists in their field.
Another reason for working in the commercial sector was that he would gain experience
in meeting and dealing with members of the public. As he moved up the garden
hierarchy, first becoming a foreman of one department, later second in command to the
head gardener, he began to learn how to manage the men under him.

Although gardens in Devon were numerous, many of them were comparatively small

with a correspondingly low number of garden staff. While this may have led to an

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

individual gaining a wide experience of gardening across all departments, it also meant

there was less choice of openings of significant status such as might have been found in
larger gardens like Chatsworth in Derbyshire or Audley End in Essex. With only one
foreman per garden department and only one head gardener per establishment, openings
in Devon were limited when it came to promotion. There was a reluctance to appoint
one gardener as foreman to men with whom he had been working as equals. If a man
wanted to advance and if there were insufficient vacancies nearby, he was forced to
move to where the work and the best opportunities were placed. It was not unusual for a
gardener to leave the county or even the country for additional training or promotion, to
return later as a foreman or head gardener as did Frederick Cavill who became head
gardener at Flete. George Camp trained at Winslade in Clyst St Mary in 1881. He then
worked in Cheshire and returned as head gardener at Culver House in Holcombe
Burnell. 23

The only way for many gardeners to obtain a wage or salary rise was to move to a

different establishment. Richard Luke, in charge of the flower and kitchen gardens at
Saltram earned £80 per year from 1836 to 1852. His successor, John Snow earned only

£70. As will be shown in Chapter Three, wages were notoriously poor for j ourneymen
gardeners and remained fairly consistent at ten shillings a week until the late 1860s
when they began to increase slowly. By the end of the century they had reached fifteen
shillings a week (see Figure 2:5). Until he reached the position of a foreman, the
working gardener was paid the same as, or just a few pence more than, agricultural
wages. A promotion with the addition of a few pence could make a big difference,
especially if a gardener had a growing family, but owners of estates were not inclined to
increase wages and salaries once set.

Figure 2:5. Wages per week excluding perquisites

1800 to 1870 1871 to 1899

Min. Max. Mode Min. Max. Mode

Boys 2s 6d 5s 4s 4s 7s 6s

Women 3s 6s 4s 4s 6s 5s

Gardeners 6s 12s 10s 10s 18s 15s

Foremen 8s 16s 12s lis £l.ls 18s

Source: Gardener wages database.

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

Hand in hand with the need for a reasonable wage was the requirement for
accommodation, although this could be fairly basic. John Hambley, George Hosking,
John Satterley, Richard Barton and William Brice all had rooms above stables. John
Franklin, an elderly gardener in Sidmouth, slept 'in the loft'. 25 Apprentices and
journeymen gardeners lived in bothies, which, even if not very comfortable, (see

Chapter Three) was cheaper than having to pay for lodgings, especially if there was
provision of vegetables and fuel. Bothy living also gave a degree of independence and
comradeship. Sometimes single or widowed gardeners lived 'in the house', where a
man would be housed in servants quarters and subject to house rules. This was not
always a practical option, especially for kitchen gardeners who often worked long
distances from the main house. Further options were to lodge with the head gardener
and his wife, a daunting prospect for many youngsters, or to lodge with a garden
foreman or another estate worker.

The requirement for many journeymen gardeners was that they remain single. This was

to ensure their undivided loyalty to the garden in which they were working and to allow
them to live in garden accommodation. James McPhail directed:

If there be not for the accommodation of a married head gardener, in or near to
the garden, a house, which a good garden ought never to be without, there should
be at least one room decently furnished, for one or two men to sleep in, that the
hot-houses and other matters may be duly attended to, night and morning.

It would not have been easy for a man to work long hours, or through the night, when it
was his turn to stoke the boilers or check the ventilation in the glasshouses, if he had a
wife and family at home, especially if home was a cottage some distance away from the
garden. Professional gardeners tended not to marry until they had achieved their first
position as head gardener, at which point they would have received a sufficient salary
with accommodation. This would allow them to support a wife and entertain visitors
such as nursery representatives or other head gardeners. In a larger garden, they would
also have staff to undertake garden duties at unsociable hours. The wait to find

promotion with accommodation meant that many head gardeners did not marry until
they were in their thirties.

If a journeyman gardener wished to get married he had several options. He could marry,
but continue to live and work as a single man, living in a bothy or in garden
accommodation. This happened quite frequently with the wife living nearby or with

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part' 65

parents, for example Eliza, wife of William Edmonds, head gardener at Moreton House,

Bideford lived with her mother-in-law. 27 Mary Bicknell lived on her own with her two
children while husband William lived in the house at Parkers Well in Exeter and
Charles Bennett lived in a bothy at Bicton despite being married. 28 A second option was
to find a position, which came complete with a cottage, where a wife would also be
offered work as a charwoman, servant or dairywoman. George Ellis's wife was lodge
keeper at The Wilderness in Dartmouth and Eva Denny, wife of Charles, worked as a
laundress at Haldon Lodge, Dawlish 29 Sometimes this was possible as a foreman or
second gardener. A third option was to work as a couple ' living in' with the wife as a
cook or housekeeper. In practice, this often meant limiting his career expectations and
couples who settled for this option frequently worked in middle-class homes, serving
the clergy, solicitors and bankers or people with a private income such as Elizabeth
Strickland of Widdicombe. The wives of Simon Hill at Elm Grove in Exeter and George
Flew at East Anstey were housekeepers. Charles Eden was gardener to William Sadler,
Vicar of Broadhembury, whilst his wife was the cook. 30

Recruitment

There were several methods by which gardeners found work. These included word of
mouth, the influence of head gardeners and advertisements in the local and national
press. For example, it was possible that William Bickham helped find William Voysey,
a position at Beckenham in Kent. Both were at Luscombe Castle in Dawlish in 1851,
both were at Beckenham in 1871. Although there were servant registries and agencies
such as Greens Registry Office of Exeter or the Servants' Superior Agency of Plymouth

who advertised for gardeners, these were rarely for the career gardener, as they

specialised in the supply of indoor servants such as maids, footmen and outdoor liveried
workers/ Agencies concentrated on staff for the middle class market; many servants in
wealthier establishments obtaining their positions through other family members or by
personal recommendation. Unless a groom or coachman position was to be combined

with that of a gardener, agency vacancies for gardeners were couched in very general
terms, presumably to get as many people registered on their books as possible. These

included statements such as, 'Servants wanted' or 'Gardeners wanted' without any
specific details. 33

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part*

Local and national newspapers and gardening journals all had 'Situations Wanted' and

'Vacant' columns where it was possible for someone to seek a gardener, or more
usually, for a gardener's services to be advertised either by a nursery, head gardener or
the gardener himself. These were in the same place in the newspaper every week; the
first column of page four of the Devon Weekly Times, or the back page of the
Gardener's Chronicle, for example. This made them easy to find without having to
search through the whole newspaper.

Figure 2:6. 'Wanted' advertisements

GARDENER (Head). Married, age 36, one child.
ThOTCf hi? oDdcn&ft&dg stove azut rrenmboose plant*, oartj fo»
lug, Tmoyc^nTcto iagt^^-JJ^ T^lnu tfa, a oi aet i m an, EKhaa, B. E.

Gardener (Head)*" Has a thorough knowledgo of
hu tmvlcet. U»>&£»£»3& %t thee* ttLCumbruice. Wuei£l
l*r ***** with boww^^J»y^BoatelTMw:4jai>o, H \ gh-«t reo*,Botaagtu

ardener (Head). Wife, Cook and Housekeeper*

Gardener (Head). Married, age 34. Understands
i . ^ W brwuh of to |>toT€sioa. GoM tetUmoalaJa.— W. T n at.

Gari#£NER (HEAD). Middle-aged, no family. Great
_ , *Wrktc* In hoUxmne. gre*abo<i«e. tkmr Md kieehea ganlea.
TTcdraUt/g character.- R. A, AdaanTa nonary, SOwiU Edtpoatoo,

Gardiner (HEAD). Married, age 32. Ttiorougbly
liraclle*! kno*Ud£e of kl« p'cfenloru Tro yean* good cturj^ter.

V.^^ Sluthw . 5v Ftlth-n ud. Croydox

Gari>exkk. No objection to look after a pony and
cK^ql Six rears* jood character. -A. K. 53, G:\»*- t^ebcoitract*

l^i akdenjzk* Single-banded. Can wait at table*

V^JWrtestobereteraH* wefi& AjeSt Good chSTacw.— J. SL»

Gardener, or Under Gardener* Married, age 25. Un-

O.S- Mn, EoanttV , 2q rAtt;TCgd,Claphaa^ Baiter*

f*\ ardener. Age 25. ifo objection to attend to a bono

vX or oov. Two je&aTfood chooefcr.— Y. 2L, Woodhicn'a, Edit.

ARDENER,Head or Single-banded. Married, azc 37.

VJT No ofc:*ctlon to oo«* Five lean* cood ehasacUtw^-Q, XUTOar&'iL

ardener, or Groom and Gardener. Married, ago

23. Thcrcu*h?r ucden lands card rata*. Can milk a cow, Gdod
c fr»r»ct*r.— Sab£a«'>. goatortSoe, Bogth N o rwood. 8otct>

Gard£NEK* Married* age 31. Thoroughly under-
tUcd* bl 1 pro'mioa In mil Its CrMchesu 4 jean* good character.—
AB., EO»VotBcj» M to pfaaa. near CraT»«nd.

GARDENER, Second or Single-banded. Single, age 21.
3 jeait" character. No ejection to ft pou»- A. BL. Co^Icyi, port

pttec. Uxbitdg*, aiMd l mx,

Garden er. Married, age 24. Understands vine*,
ca33ta**n» flo*cr &sd tttcbta garden. Good recommendation.-*
W» B-» V/colttfr Pttregty. Co!6 hubour-boB. Brixton, S.

Gakdenek. Single, age 25. Understands vines.
„ tSere.nd crwnboczc plants early rordng. flower andkitchea

gartcn-P. IL. the gardec*?,. Oakfeld, Croydon* Borrer.

Source: TTie TSwies 5.09.1860, 12a.

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

Advertisements in The Times perpetuated the servant hierarchy. These began with
listings for butlers, progressed through the indoor staff, then outdoor liveried servants;
'gardeners', even head gardeners, were placed at the end of the list of servants, below
'coachman' and 'grooms'. This reflected how they were viewed, being considered
neither indoor nor outdoor servants. Even within this section there was a hierarchy;
advertisements for 'head gardeners expected to superintend a garden' were followed by
those for a 'working head', then 'single-handed with help'. 'Single handed without help,
which frequently required a wife to act as cook or housekeeper, came before requests
for 'foremen', 'journeymen' and 'gardeners' with, finally, at the bottom of the list,
'garden labourers' (see Figure 2:6).

There were several parts to an advertisement to fill a vacancy. The first was a
description of the person required, or of the man seeking a change of work. For the
latter, age, marital status, family and experience were important, even height if a man
was contemplating becoming a groom or coachman gardener. For those with a vacancy,
age was particularly important, dependent on the position offered. Applicants to be
accommodated on the estate were frequently asked to be 'below 30' or 'not above '35'.
Those gardeners who were to live in the house mostly had to be 'middle-aged' and
'married'; the wife would be expected to work in service as well. Where a man was
required to live in servant quarters the request was for someone 'middle-aged' and
'single'. All were required to be without encumbrance (family). 35

In a country house garden single gardeners were often preferred, especially if they were
to live in a bothy, or to have board or lodgings with other estate workers. A young
family could be a drain on the estate - small children could not work, neither could the

mother if children were too young. As 'One of the Profession' commented, '...he [the
gardener] is aware that a large family is more hurtful to his future prospects than either a
bad character or no character at all'. 36 By the time a child had reached ten or eleven,
especially if male, he could be employed to work alongside his father or mother at some
of the seasonal work and older sons were often encouraged as they could act as a garden
or errand boy. John Petters was only nine when he began work with his father at
Churchstanton in 1851; Thomas Doan aged ten, helped his father at Escot; William
Bastone of Farringdon, William Reed at Heavitree, John Worth in Pilton and John
Stevens from Alphington were all employed alongside their fathers aged just eleven. 37
Their daily tasks encompassed everything from helping with haymaking and harvesting

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part*

to weeding, watering, bird-scaring and stone picking. John Wingate was paid 2s a week

as a garden boy at Saltram. 38 The dates that these boys were employed, from 1822 to
1891, show that the practice continued right through the nineteenth century.

A gardener's character was of paramount importance and stock phrases were used for
these by both parties (see Figure 2:7 below). Although similar wordings were used,
those looking for work advertised their skills before their characteristics. Those seeking
help appeared to be more concerned about the characteristics of a person than their
skills. References were very important, especially if someone was to share a house with
a family and employers went to a great deal of trouble to vet their future employees.
Even where a man would be living on the estate, extensive references were followed up.
When Andrew Voss applied for a position at Saltram early in the twentieth century,
references were sought from his previous places of work and from the Rector of the

parish in which he worked. The procedure from the first application for the post until he
made arrangements to move onto the estate took six weeks. 39

Figure 2:7. Characteristics required and offered in the provincial press in order of
popularity

Vacancies

Steady

Generally useful
Active
Respectable

Good practical knowledge
Good manager

Competent

Industrious

Experienced
Careful
Honest
Sober

Source: Exeter Flying Post, Devon Weekly Times.

Applicants

Thoroughly understands gardening
Steady

Experienced

Respectable
Active
Willing

Competent
Thorough
Good
Useful
Sober

Intelligent

Industrious

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

Certain requirements demanded by employers show some of the preoccupations of
society or the interests of a particular family. For Catton Hall, Burton on Trent, a youth
was required to be 'a good singer and churchman'. 40 It was not uncommon that a man
was requested to be 'sober' or an 4 Abstainer', or that he be 'Church of England, unless a
Scotch Presbyterian'. 41

The third part of an advertisement was specific information about the position required
or offered, for example 'Wanted Nr Exeter a working Gardener were [sic] another is
kept, capable of managing a small garden and grounds with vinery, peach-house, and
conservatory' 42 In other words, a man was required who would be a 'head' gardener
and manage the garden, but who would undertake any physical work necessary. These
skills were usually broken down into requirements for specific garden departments of
' flowers' , ' kitchen garden' , ' roses' , ' fruit' , and * greenhouses' , ' stoves' or

'conservatories'.

Advertisements in the Gardener 's Chronicle were much more specific. W. G. Hodge of
49, George Street, Plymouth advertised for a 'thorough good manager' to look after
'25,000 foot of glass outdoors, cut flowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries,
mushrooms and ferns' 44 Norton Hall at Daventry needed a 'Strong industrious youth to
attend to fruit trees on walls and assist in kitchen garden and duty work' 45 Those aimed
at career gardeners were also more specific about salary or wage details than the
provincial newspapers, probably to save a man wasting time applying for a position
only to find that the remuneration was too little or that the work was not what he
wanted. The selling point was often the accommodation offered, particularly if it was 'a
good cottage, large garden' or a lodge. 46 The offer of a bothy appears frequently in The
Gardener 's Chronicle for both private and nursery gardens, and several gardeners state
'bothy preferred' as did S, H. Snell of Torquay.

The selling points for gardeners seeking work were different. They offered flexibility:
'no objection to go to any part of Great Britain or Ireland' or 'willing to go to any part
of the United Kingdom' 48 When times were hard and jobs in short supply, for example
following the return of men from the Napoleonic Wars, or during the agricultural
depression, gardeners offered their services cheaply: 'situation will be preferred to an
emolument' and 'wages not so much an object if comfortable' 49 When demand was

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

high and advertisements plentiful for trained men, they offered 'ready for immediate
engagement'. 50

The cost of pre-paid advertisements ensured that advertisers did not waste words.

...not exceeding 18 words, 9d, 24 words, Is, 30 words l/6d, 40 words, 2/-, 50
words 2s 6d and 6d for every 10 additional words. 51

However, this was an investment for both parties. An employer wanted a gardener;
he was a status symbol as much as an employee. Gardeners sought a position that

home or both.

Advertisements in the provincial press were mostly from or aimed at the middle-class
master where the gardener would often have to take on tasks additional to gardening.
The most common of these was care of a horse, acting in the capacity of a groom and
sometimes a coachman. Mr Chalk of South Street, Exeter required 'A Steady Man

(small size)' to look after a pair of ponies and the kitchen garden. 52 Second was that of
small-holding skills, care of cows, pigs and poultry, with the wife expected to work in
the dairy or in the house. 53 In one case the gardener was expected to double up as a
gamekeeper, in another as a footman. Gardeners were also expected to clean windows
and boots and shoes. 54 Aware of these requirements, gardeners would offer additional
skills, suggesting that they would be willing to work as a groom, or to milk cows, or
wait at table. Several offered the information that they had worked in gentlemen's
residences with 'good' families, to demonstrate their knowledge of what might be
expected and to appeal to the snobbery of future employers. 55

Journals were distributed nationally, bought by the head gardener or the estate for the
use of trainee gardeners. The fact that Devon gardeners, not just head gardeners, placed
advertisements in the journals suggests they had access to them, both in local nurseries
and in private gardens such as at Escot where the Gardener 's Chronicle was purchased
from the garden account from at least 1867 to 1872. 56 Travelling from position to
position became easier with the coming of the railways, which meant that gardeners
were able to obtain a position a long way from where they were bom or where they had
trained. It was not unusual for the garden budget to cover the cost of a gardener's travel

and removal to a new position.

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part' 71

Opportunities were offered to gardeners to work abroad, where English and Scottish,

especially Kew trained gardeners were particularly valued. Some wealthy employers
took their gardeners to Europe with them, and a request for a 'Gardener who can speak
English and French to live in the South of France', suggests that there were applicants
with language skills who would respond. 58 Other advertisements requested general
gardeners as well as those with specific skills, such as: 'Gardener wanted to go out to
Queensland Age 25-30'. and, 'Wanted: For the Colonies a good grafter and budder'. 59
In 1893 the Indian government considered a scheme to work with Kew to supply trained
gardeners to be sent to different provinces in India. 60

Travel to America for work, however, was discouraged by William Wynne, foreman in
Bartram's Botanic Garden, Philadelphia, unless a gardener was young and well
educated. He wrote:

Some Englishmen, who might be denominated good gardeners, are too sanguine
of making a rapid fortune in America: they, of course, are disappointed. There
are numbers who, from an aversion to study, and from other causes, affect to
despise all "book Learning" (as they call it), who by dint of plodding the same
round for a number of years, manage to scrape together a scanty knowledge of

ground

want employment

man who can procure a good situation in Britain

can

business for himself, where he can find a ready market for anything he can
but to the young gardener, who has studied the principles of his professioi
is not afraid of work, and who has not sufficient interest with the pri
nurserymen to procure a situation worth his acceptance at home, to him
this is the country in which you can have plenty of employment, at waj
which vou can live well. 61

The editors of horticultural journals not only printed advertisements for those looking
for work but also kept in their offices their own listings of those searching for new
employment:

e Nobility and Gentry in Want of Gardeners and Gardeners in want of
A Book is opened at the Gardener's Gazette Office, where the names of
ners in want of places are entered free of expense and the Nobility and
y will have access to it between Nine and Five daily: Gardeners desirous of
g their names entered must send, postage-free, directed to the Editor of the
:ner's Gazette the following particulars. Last place or places they have
and in what capacity. Reference for general good Character. References for
cal Knowledge. Nature of the places they require, and any other particulars

gardeners.

communicated to parties in want

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part' 72

Another method of recruitment was through hearing from family or friends that a
vacancy would soon be available. Career servants such as maids, butlers and footmen
became 'peripatetic servants' and moved with their employers following the 'season'
around the country. 63 Families spent time at their London house, travelled to Bath to
take the waters, or moved from one grand country house to another to spend time with
friends and relatives. The servants were often in a position to hear of vacancies as they

arose and could sometimes put in a good word on a gardener's behalf. George Roberts,

under-gardener at Erdigg in Wales, worked initially on the Great Western Railway. He
moved from there to work at Cefh quarries loading trucks with sandstone. However, a
recession during the 1880s meant that he became unemployed and he was taken on to
work at Erdigg, despite his lack of experience, because his mother-in-law used to work
on the estate. 64 James Rabbage, a deaf and dumb gardener, was cousin to, and lived
with, Charlotte Seward, a laundress at Mamhead. 65

Employers too exchanged staff with their extended families, sending gardeners from
one garden to another, sometimes on secondment, sometimes permanently. In Devon,
the Lopes family leased Buckland Abbey from the Drakes. For a time George Giles the
agent looked after the affairs at Buckland Abbey as well as at Maristow and gardeners
worked in both gardens. 66

There was a strong head gardener network, sometimes because they were related.

Francis Stone, head gardener to C. F. Roberts at Heavitree, was brother-in-law to
Thomas Bartlett, head gardener at Knightleys in Exeter. 67 Some had trained together,
which meant they kept in touch with each other through a variety of means; meeting at

horticultural society exhibitions, visiting each others' gardens and communicating

through letters and horticultural journals. A head gardener would often offer the
services of one of their men, taking a pride in finding the best position for someone they
had trained. This reflected well on the head gardener and, indirectly, on the owner of the
garden. It was also a method of moving a gardener on if he was unsatisfactory, or if
there had been a personality clash. This could be done through word of mouth or
through advertisements for example:

Journeyman (First) in the houses. Age 23. 4 years good character. Mr Mackay

Gardener, Maristow, Roborough, S Devon can confidently recommend a young
man as above. 68

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part' 73

Family connections were important. John and William Franklin were the middle
brothers in a family of eleven children. Both became gardeners instead of following the
family trade of shoe-making. At age 2 1 William was living as a nursery gardener at
Mount Radford bothy working for Veitch. By 1870 he was head gardener at Farringdon
where he remained until his retirement when he moved to live at 50 Oxford Terrace,

Exeter. 69

John, who was two years younger than William was listed in the 1861 census as an
agricultural labourer at Teignmouth. However, ten years later he was in the 'Bachelor
Cottage' at Poltimore, firstly as a foreman gardener, then as head. From there he moved,
in 1879, to Streatham Hall as head gardener, taking over the position from Henry
Beddard, and remained there until the early twentieth century. While working at
Poltimore John Franklin had shared the bothy with Albert Ballhatchet. Ballhatchet also
moved to work at Streatham Hall - he was there from 1872 to 1876 as a foreman. When
he left he became head gardener for the Bishop of Exeter, first of all working in Exeter,
where he would have known about the vacancy left by Beddard, then moving with his

family to the Bishop's Palace in Fulham. These three head gardeners illustrate the
relationship links between career gardeners, both familial and through working together.

Not only did families and head gardeners have their own network, but so too did
travelling salesmen, in particular those who worked selling seeds, plants and equipment
for nurseries, such as William Napper who worked for Lucombe and Pince in Exeter.
Travelling all over the country, they were in a good position to know who was leaving
or retiring and what vacancies were available. Nurseries and seedsmen acted as agencies
and advertised the services of gardeners seeking a new position:

WANTS a SITUATION as GARDENER, a person who perfectly understands

the Arts of Gardening in all its branches; has lived in a respectable family for
these last seven years, from whom he can have a good character. Apply to Mr
Pince, Nursery-man, Exeter, (if by letter, post-paid).

■f
1

Nurseries kept lists of gardeners wishing to move and of people requiring gardeners and
would provide work while a man was waiting for a suitable position to be found (see
Chapter Six). Robert Glendinning worked a short time for James Veitch before he was
recommended for the position of head gardener at Bicton in 1829, However, when he
left Bicton, it was to work in partnership with Lucombe, Pince and Company until he
took on his own nursery at Chiswick. 71

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part 1 74

Social Mobility

The hierarchy apparent in society was also present between servants, with a division
between the gardeners of nobility and gentry and those of the mercantile and
professional class. While an estate head gardener would have been on a similar level to
the butler or a French cook, journeymen gardeners and garden labourers would have
been at the other end of the scale, ranked with or slightly above agricultural and farm
labourers. Within a garden a hierarchical structure was necessary between upper and
lower gardeners, so that everyone knew their place and respect was accorded to foremen
and especially to the head gardeners. As Arthur Hooper commented, 'the position one
held in the hierarchy was of considerable importance'. In very large gardens such as
Chatsworth where the kitchen garden was apart from the flower gardens and the
pleasure gardens, ordinary gardeners would have taken their orders direct from foremen
and would not have had a great deal of contact with the head gardener apart from being
interviewed for a position or if in trouble. Nursery foremen were entitled to hold the
rank of head-gardener 'and to that of master-gardener ever afterwards; the same may be
said of foremen to public botanic gardens, and royal or national gardens'. 74 However,
not all large houses had such a hierarchical system. Merlin Waterson discusses the
friendship between staff and servants, and the servant community at Erdigg in Wales,
but this seems to have been unusual.

Social mobility was limited by the ambitions and capabilities of the individual. If a
gardener was truly determined to get into a top post, then he would travel as far and as
often as was necessary to achieve his aim. Many gardeners offered to pay a premium to
work in a particular garden or with a particular head gardener. This could be up to half
his week's pay, or a proportion of his salary; more often it was a set sum, usually £5 or
£10 paid to a third party. Usually, but not always, it was paid to a nursery to help find a
position, or direct to a head gardener to take on a learner. 76 For example, in 1832, an
architect in Yorkshire auctioned sought after situations to the highest bidder, hoping to
get at least £20 from a gardener seeking a position. 77

Three years earlier a man had bitterly complained about the greediness of a particular

individual and suggested that trainees were leaving one (un-named) prestigious garden
without adequate training:

I have known the gardener have no less than four apprentices at a time, who have
paid him five or six pounds each, as a premium, for two years expecting to have

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part' 75

an opportunity in that time of obtaining a practical knowledge of the different
parts of their profession; but who, at the expiration of the two years, have found
themselves very much deceived, and being obliged to make room for a fresh
stock of apprentices (to fill the gardener's pocket), they obtain the name of
journeymen, although they have their business still to learn; and on that account
they generally fail to give satisfaction to their next employer, who will give the
most particular part of the work to those whom he thinks most competent to do
it. 78

Although the practice of charging premiums was condemned by writers in the

horticultural journals, it became a normal part of job-hunting. 79 By the end of the
century many advertisers were asking for a financial incentive to place a journeyman in
a prestigious garden. A job seeker might offer to pay a reward for obtaining a position.
Examples include an improver's position' offered at £5 per year for two years; a
request for £5 for 'assisting' a gardener to find a situation as a head gardener, and a 49
year old working gardener who offered ten percent of his first year's salary for a

permanent position. Some offered to work for just their keep to ensure they were
trained in a garden that gave them an advantage for future job-seeking; this included a
'Young Lady' who offered to 'give time and pay a small premium' in order to learn the
business. 81 With a sixteen year old stating that 'wages were not so much an object as
gaining experience', it is no wonder that wages remained low for gardeners. A sum
such as £10 offered by James Baker, and even the smaller sums referred to above,

constituted a huge investment in their future considering gardeners only earned between
10s and 15s a week.

It was acknowledged that in order to gain social status, a young gardener had to have
the best education possible and payment of a premium was considered to be worthwhile
to create an opportunity to move up the garden hierarchy, by training with a well-known

■ranking garden. However, there was a dang<

backfire :-

... there are others that are rather prejudiced against taking a gardener out of a
first-class establishment; and they are not void of a reason for being so, as they
are aware that many of the superintendents of the above places require premiums
from young professionals for merely allowing them to work on the
establishment, giving them a promise to assist them into a more remunerative
situation. A young man's professional abilities are sometimes a secondary
consideration with these wholesale dealers in gardeners... Employers are also
aware that the greater part of the majority of these young men's time is
employed in one particular department, consequently, they must be very often in
ignorance of what is going on in many of the other departments. 84

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

Education of Gardeners

There were three strands to a gardener's education and training. Formal education
which came from schools and colleges; practical training from an apprenticeship or
working with other gardeners; and self-education. This system paralleled that offered to
the farming community. Paul Brassley writes: 'almost all farm workers, and all but a
small minority of farmers and landowners, received what training they had 'on the job',
as part of their working routine'. 85 Boys learned by watching and doing and were given
more responsibility as they grew more proficient or older. There was an assumption that
most agricultural and garden labourers would remain as such and did not need further
education. When the Agricultural College was established, in 1845, it, in common with
later horticultural colleges such as Studley and Swanley, catered for mostly middle class
students. It was not until technical education had been introduced in the 1 890s that
there was a mixture of practical and theoretical education aimed at the working
gardener. Increasing numbers of horticultural and agricultural books and journals
catered to the need for self-education.

Education had a high profile in the nineteenth century, part of the Victorian ideal of
learning for learning's sake. However, Alec Ellis suggests that for the majority of
working class children the average length of school life was no more than two years
until after the Education Act of 1870. 87 Loudon had worried in 1827 that, 'as things at
present stand, very few parents who bring up their children to gardening are able to
bestow on them the requisite elementary education'. 88 This meant many gardeners in the

nineteenth century began work with the minimum of formal schooling. Sunday schools

had been available to working class children from the end of the eighteenth century, but
for many this was the only formal teaching they had before going to work. Literacy was
the main theme of these classes and most youngsters entering work with the aim of
becoming a head gardener would have acquired very basic reading and writing skills. Of
fifty-six gardeners and nurserymen, aged between fifteen and sixty-six, brought before
the quarter sessions in Exeter between 1851 and 1881, seven men could read well;
forty-one could read 'Imperfectly', only eight could not read at all. This suggests that
the majority of gardeners would have picked up basic literacy skills. 89

The National Society and the British Foreign Schools Society were set up to educate
working class children in the 1830s. These, like the earlier dame schools and later the

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

'council schools', were available for those who could afford to educate their children.
They taught a wider range of skills, but even at a cost of Id or 2d a week, many could
not afford to pay for their children to be educated, or to lose out on a child's wage. It
was not until 1891 that education was free to all at an elementary level.

There were also schools set up specifically to train youngsters for a future career. Most
were charitable institutions serving a specific purpose, for example the West of England
Institution for the instruction of the Deaf and Dumb Children of Devon, Cornwall,
Somerset and Dorset founded in 1826. Here, in addition to academic subjects, girls were
trained in needlework and knitting; boys were taught tailoring, shoemaking, printing
and gardening. 90 Other institutions included industrial and reformatory schools. The

Devon and Exeter Reformatory School for Boys at Brampford Speke was established in

1855 for the purpose of 'reclaiming criminals'. 91 Youngsters aged between 11 and 17

were taught farm and kitchen garden work by a 'labour master' as part of their

rehabilitation 92

At Exminster, the Devon and Exeter Boys Industrial School should have been in a

position to produce educated garden boys from its pupils. Founded in 1863 to 'reclaim

those who have been brought up in vice, or whose circumstances would most probably
lead them to crime,' the school moved to Exminster in 1869 where a larger number of
pupils could be housed and where there was land for gardening. 93 A report of that date
suggested the institution was necessary because boys were 'thrown about the streets' as
they had been deprived of 'all the playgrounds they were accustomed to have'. The
establishment of Northernhay, Southernhay, the Bonhay, and Bury Meadow parks as
'most genteel places', had excluded them as playgrounds for children 94 Boys remained
at the school for a period of one month to four years. They were aged between 7 and 14
and taught 'Reading, Spelling, Writing and Ciphering, and as far as practicable the
elements of History, Geography, Social Economy and Drawing' for three hours a day.
There was also religious instruction and industrial education 'for not less than six hours
daily', which encompassed tailoring, shoemaking, and practical gardening. The income
from the garden produce sold was sufficient to pay the gardener's wages.
Approximately half the boys were trained as gardeners. At the end of their stay in the
school the boys were kitted out with a set of clothes and 'placed, as far as practicable, in
some employment or service'. 95 It is not known how many became gardeners once they
left the institution, but the Exeter Flying Post carried an advertisement which read:

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part' 78

'Wanted to Place a Boy, an orphan. Apprentice to a Gardener. Apply Superintendent.
Industrial School, Exminster'. 96 It appears that if the boys were without parents to help
them get work then the institution would do its best.

Workhouses too saw the benefit in training boys for a future career. For example, the
Board of Guardians of the Union Workhouse at Newton Abbot employed 'a competent
person' who taught boys 'the modem system of Spade Husbandry'. 97 This knowledge
would have enabled boys to tend a garden or an allotment if the opportunity arose, as
well as fitting them with the skills to become a garden labourer in one of the nursery or
market gardens which surrounded Exeter.

Towards the end of the century farm schools began to be set up where boys, usually the
sons of agricultural labourers and small farmers, were offered scholarships to learn
farming and gardening. The Farm School for Bedfordshire, sponsored by the Duke of
Bedford, had twenty pupils whose education, board and residence was paid for by
Bedfordshire County Council. 98 As Brassley notes, there were worries about educating
labourers' children; concerns were expressed that educated boys might look for jobs
away from the land, having the opposite effect of that intended by the schools. 99 These
establishments had been set up as part of the back to the land movement, trying to
repopulate rural areas with small farmers and gardeners. This initiative also saw the
establishment of several horticultural colleges to train, mostly middle class, people for a
career in horticulture.

It was not just college students who had the opportunity to take formal examinations.
From 1892, 'for a fee of 3s payable in advance', anyone interested in gardening was
able to undertake the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) examination. 100 In 1894, 126
candidates including a schoolmaster, a chemist, a warehouseman and a railway clerk,
took the examination, eleven passing with first class marks, thirty-seven classed as
second class and forty-five third class. Thirty-three were unclassified. Of those that
came into one or other of the three categories above, at least fifty were gardeners aged
from sixteen (G. R. Newman an improver at Sutton House, Gloucester) to forty-six
(John Baxter of Pine Grove in Dundee). 101 There were six gardeners from Dundee, not
all from the same garden, which suggests they met and agreed to study together for the
examinations. Members of The Court of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners and
also the RHS offered scholarships to the most successful candidates aged between

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

eighteen and twenty-two. Worth £25 a year, these covered one year of fees to be trained
at Kew, followed by a further year of training in an approved, prestigious establishment
of the student's own choosing either in Britain or abroad. 102

In order to demonstrate their theoretical knowledge and understanding and practical
skills, the examinees were required to answer a total of eight questions, four each from
two sections. The first section on 'Elementary Principles' covered the theory of
gardening and botanic knowledge. Questions were asked about plant growth, soil and
fertilisation of plants. The second section was based upon practical knowledge and

experience. Entitled 'Horticultural Practice', questions were asked about where plants
should be placed for best effect, how the ground should be prepared and questions of

succession of vegetables. Some of the questions seemed quite subjective and open to a
range of interpretations which could have affected the possible 300 marks given.

Question 14 asked the candidate to 'Mention the time of planting, and indicate the
general method of culture suitable for the flower-garden'. It is unknown whether the
examiners who marked the papers would have made allowances for later seasons in

Scotland than in the south of England, or for the individual ideas of head gardeners that

were passed on to their trainees.

The number of candidates rose each year, as did the number achieving a first class pass,
but from 1895 ages and occupations were not included on the lists of successful
candidates, so unless the address is for a specific garden, it is difficult to identify
working gardeners. Some gardeners took the examinations several times as did R.
Bellarby of Askham Grange Gardens, York, and Alfred Morris, Barrowmore Hall
Gardens, Chester. It was possible to take the examinations several years apart. George
Stuart took exams in 1894 and in 1897. Several major gardens supported the
examinations including Castle Ashby in Northampton, Cambridge Botanical Gardens,
Barkby Hall in Leicester and Castle Howard in Yorkshire.

As the years progressed the examiners began to comment on the candidates'
performance. In 1895 they praised the training received by increasing numbers of
students from horticultural colleges such as Swanley and the Central Laboratory at
Chelmsford. 'Considering the opportunities at the disposal of the candidates, the results
may be considered satisfactory. The effect of continuous systematic training is well
exemplified in the class lists'. 103 In 1896 practical skills were criticised: 'if hands are

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

trained to work, the eyes are not correspondingly taught how and what to see'. 104 The
following year there was 'a very considerable improvement upon the results of that
[examination] held in 1896. ..the "Practical Horticulture" showed, as might be
anticipated, a slight superiority over the "Elementary Principles'".

105

By 1901 there were at least six technical and horticultural colleges nationally offering
two year horticultural courses with the opportunity to take the RHS examination in
horticulture. However, as more candidates were coming from colleges, the practical side
of the examination was causing real concern:

candidates had full knowledge of the Elementary Principl

came to the Practice. Candidates

with

knowledge of the composition of plants or trees, and may never have heard
Phlogm or Xylem; but cannot possibly do so unless he knows - when and how
repot choice plants; the rotation of crops in the kitchen garden; the best kind
fruit trees to plant and the right time to plant them, and so on. 106

This echoed a fear expressed by Professor Huxley in an article written for The Garden
six months before the first examinations. He had maintained that study of chemistry,
botany and physiology were a waste of time, '...science is only organised common
sense, and sound practice is science'. He was very scathing about the 'technology of
horticulture' and against too much 'book learning'. 107 But it was only six months later
that The Garden was praising the first candidates to have taken the examination in
gardening following a series of lectures organised by the Technical Education
Committee of the Surrey County Council. 108

Practical Education

Practical education began for many gardeners by working with their parents. There are
thirty-four youngsters aged six to eleven on the database who were employed in
gardens, eighteen of whom were working with their father and two with their
grandfather. Even top head gardeners began work as weeders and errand boys who
helped with fruit picking and bird scaring. James Barnes wrote about how he hated

picking caterpillars off bushes when he helped his father. 109 When they were old
enough, boys were employed in their own right. For the younger gardener, training took
up a large part of his time: 'pot-washing, soil-sieving, greenhouse-washing and general
chores, at the same time learning how to handle plants'. 110

Chapter Two: 4 No Objection to go to Any Part 1

Powers of attention and concentration were considered by Loudon to be essential skills
which had to be honed by the apprentice gardener. He maintained:

Unless we pay attention to what is addressed to us, whether by the eye or the ear,
it is impossible we can remember, because the sight or sound has made no
impression on the memory, and without memory, there can be no knowledge. 111

'The labour of a gardener,' he said, 'is not severe and time he has for self-improvement
is very considerable, (as much or more than for those students who are studying at
University)'. 112 The plan of study he devised was for every gardener under thirty to rise
at five o'clock to have an hour of study at a different language every morning, it was
suggested these should include Latin, English grammar, Greek, French, German and
Italian. He did not expect gardeners to be proficient in speaking all these languages, but
at least to be able to read them, and maintained that 'even a word per day gained is

worth something'. 113

Loudon recommended two hours should be spent every evening learning a variety of

skills which included architectural, botanical, figure and landscape drawing, arithmetic

and land surveying, botany, mechanics and experimental philosophy. This was only the
beginning, for in addition to all the skills above he suggested that trainees should also
dm for personal accomplishments; learning to dance, fence, box and wrestle and how to
play backgammon, chess, the flute and the fiddle. Swimming and horsemanship should
not be neglected, if the opportunity was offered. Conversation and debating skills
should be practised whenever possible. 114

Loudon maintained in 1827, 4 that a library of books ought to form a part of the furniture
of every garden.... a gardener can no more acquire his profession without books than he
can without tools'. 115 The principal reason, he wrote, was that there had been so many
scientific advances that 'gardening is now quite a different thing to what is was twenty
years ago'. The library he recommended was to include twelve classes of books which
encompassed languages, English grammar and composition, memory, geography and
history, moral and practical Science in addition to professional books and periodicals. 116
The last section, of course, included The Gardener's Magazine which Loudon saw, 'as
a means of the improvement of gardeners'. 117 Loudon never stopped working to
encourage youngsters to be more educated and dedicated a whole book to the training of
young gardeners which was published posthumously by his wife (see Figure 2:8). 118

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

Figure 2:8. Title page of Loudon's Self-Instruction for Young Gardeners

SELF-INSTRUCTION

rom

YOUNG GARDENERS,

FORESTERS, BAILIFFS,
LAND-STEWARDS, AND FARMERS ;

AEITHMETIC AMD BOOK-KEPI WO,
MEHSUBATTOH, AM> PRACTICAL TOOOHOMETIY,
iCHANICS, HYDROSTATICS, AHD B YDB 4 CL.IC ft,

LAKD-8UETETI1VQ, LEYELUMG, FLAK M IEQ» AHD MAPPIHGl

AECHrTECTUEAI* DEAWINO,
AND ISO METRICAL PROJECTION AND PEESPECTtYX i

T M«m ArrucAnoi to somticui«tvbai»
AamcoLTDKAL pvmrosM.

LATE J. C. LOUDON, F.L.S. ]

WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR*

UXUBTKATBD WIT II MOKBBOIXS EKOBA VINOS.

mcono lomow,

cos iiononi AVH I0DITIOII.

LONDON:
X-ONGMAN, BROWN, GRKKN, AND LONGMANS.

riTBtiiorrtB-]

1847.

Self-improvement became a social and moral duty incumbent on all, and leading writers
considered that gardeners should be among those to take advantage of opportunities

arising:

The labourer must perfect himself by years of patient application in the peculiar
department of work in which he hopes to excel... the professional man must
study and work hard to obtain a knowledge of his business. The success or
failure of these men affects themselves only. 19

There was also a fear that if a gardener was not educated then he would be unable to
progress in his career or would find himself having to change occupation. Reading was
considered of paramount importance. James Housman advocated studying:

...the many publications on botany, horticulture, chemistry &c„..I believe the
day is near at hand when something more will be required of the practical
gardener than a knowledge of sowing, planting, pruning, and mowing, wrapping
himself up in a blue apron, and carrying a crooked knife. 120

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part'

Up-to-date journals such as The Gardener and The Gardener's Chronicle which were
essential to the men for their studies were not available to all, despite their relative
cheapness (the Journal of Horticulture was published weekly at 3d and the Gardener's
Chronicle at 5d). In 1890 G. H. suggested:

in myriads of gardens where two or more young men are housed in rooms or
bothies, the employers would render them exceeding service if they would
furnish them with a fresh copy of the gardening papers weekly... the pay of
young men is not so much that they can afford to provide themselves with much
literature, although generally, they do their best. 121

Some gardeners felt threatened by the availability of gardening education. The numbers
and popularity of journals especially worried Robert Fish as he believed that they were
spreading knowledge not only to gardeners, but also to garden owners and therefore
threatening the gardener' s authority:

In visiting the villa of the merchant, or the country house of the gentleman, and
observing upon the tables of the library several of the gardening periodicals, one
cannot resist the conviction, not only that the knowledge of our art is rapidly
extending, but also that, if we keep not pace with the onward movement, or,
rather, be not competent to give that movement direction, no inattention or
carelessness of ours will impede the march of improvement. Men of all classes
will become their own gardeners; and the professors of gardening, instead of
being distinguished for the confidence reposed in them, and the mental
acquirements of which they were once the possessors, will be degraded to the
condition of mere delvers of the soil, and neither possess that respectability, nor
receive that remuneration, which they have hitherto done' 122

The threat to the gardeners' position as a possessor of specific skills made ii
more important for gardeners to keep themselves as highly educated as possible.

Some of the larger estates provided a teacher one or two nights a week to teach botany,

technical drawing and Latin. 123 Many bothies contained libraries of current journals and
gardening books, or the men were encouraged to attend lectures at local institutes and
take advantage of local reading rooms. Gardeners from Escot were able to attend
lectures paid for by the estate. Improvers, journeymen, head gardeners and nursery
gardeners formed their own groups such as the Devon and Exeter Gardeners' Mutual
Improvement Association:

Formation of the Association in 1891 was the outcome of a feeling among some
of the leading gardeners in the district, that, with the demand for technical
education which had sprung up and spread all over the country, something
should be done in this neighbourhood to raise the standard of gardening and keep
it abreast of the times, 125

Chapter Two: 4 No Objection to go to Any Part'

Patrons of the Association were some of the largest landowners in the county. The
President was W. Lethbridge of Courtlands in Lympstone. Meetings were held every
fortnight during the winter in Exeter Guildhall with papers read by head gardeners,
amateurs and nurserymen. Here Mr Luxton, an improver in the employ of the Exeter
Nursery Company, Mr Johns, gardener at Mr Veitch's nursery and Mr Robert Hill of
Pinhoe listened to papers on, 'The Carnations and Picotee', or 'Chrysanthemums' and
items on 'Foliage Plants and Their Culture' or 'A Chat on Indoor Cultivated Plants'. 126

The aim of the Association was to:

...foster and promote the acquirement of knowledge in the grand old profession
of gardening, and to maintain the time-honoured prestige of Devon as a pioneer
in the field of horticultural achievement. 127

summer the Association visited local gardens in the neighbourhood where they

shown around by head gardeners. In July 1895 they visited, in turn, Poltimore,
leld and Knightshayes. Here they admired avenues, toured glasshouses and

luncheons and a substantial

128

formed

county where there were sufficient gardeners to support the meetings. For example there
was a District Gardeners' Mutual Improvement Society at Axminster and another at
Teignmouth. 129 These associations followed the ideas of organisations such as the
Devon and Exeter Botanical and Horticultural Society who had instituted winter
evening meetings as early as 1867 for the purpose of 'affording valuable information to
those who were interested in either the practice or study of Horticulture'. 130

For those who could not get to a Gardeners' Association there was the local Mechanics'
Institute. From the 1820s these organisations had encouraged discussion of new
scientific and technological ideas. Meetings during the evening covered a wide range of
topics from technical instruction to moral and political education. This led eventually
to the movement for technical training which saw St Thomas District Committee for
Technical Education putting on classes at Topsham, Exmouth and Upton Pyne where it
was possible to study fruit culture, horticulture and gardening. 132 These courses were
aimed not just at private gardeners, but were also for those who worked in nurseries and
market gardens in and around Exeter.

Skills were needed to communicate with professional colleagues, both in this country
and abroad. Hence Lucombe and Pince employed language teacher Arthur Persac at St

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part'

Thomas in 1861. 133 Loudon and his later colleagues were aware that the new breed of
head gardeners needed to be educated, but also experienced, not just in the physical
work of gardening in all its variety, but in the management of a garden staff. It was
essential that gardeners were able to share knowledge with their peers, to interact with a
variety of garden owners and visitors and to get the best from their workforce. Thomas
Mawson, for example, not only chose in which nurseries to work according to his
interests, but also recognized the need to be able to talk to gentlemen on an equal
footing, be they owners, visitors or customers. So he joined the village debating society
to gain confidence and learned to dress well, saying that appearance was all important

i 134

when talking to garden owners.

Apprentices

To most an apprenticeship would appear to be the most important element of a

gardener's education. As stated above many youngsters began working with relatives
while very young, A boy who aspired to be a head gardener would first have had to
become a garden apprentice or 'improver'. An apprenticeship would have lasted for a
minimum of three years, more if begun at fifteen or earlier, and continued until he was
aged twenty-one. 135 He would have served under a master gardener, either living and
working from home, or supplied with food and lodgings and, from the 1830s, would
have needed to have had some basic education in reading, writing and arithmetic. The
three characteristics needed to become a head gardener were the ability to educate
himself and make full use of any training given, the capacity for hard, physical work,
and a strong determination to succeed.

Young gardeners recorded in the census were rarely listed as apprentices. They were
called 'garden boy', 136 'labourers', 'gardener's assistant', 'under gardeners' or, most
frequently, just 'gardeners'. Edward Ankins of Rattery was listed as 'attendant to
gardener' and George Petrock, aged 13, as 'gardener's errand boy'. Of 3,018 gardeners
under 21 only four per cent were recorded as apprentices, but this does not mean that
only four per cent went on to become career gardeners. What it does show is how
difficult it is to generalise from descriptions in the census. Where a person was listed as
under gardener, assistant or apprentice, it implies that there was at least one other man
working in the garden in a position of authority. However, some youths under 21,
especially the older ones, may have been the only gardener. The title 'apprentice' or

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

'learning gardener' implies that boys were being trained: that of 'first', 'second' or
'under gardener' that there was a definite hierarchy within the garden.

Whatever their title, apprentices learned first by example and by helping other
gardeners. A learner would initially be assigned many menial tasks such as soil sieving,
pot-washing, and greenhouse cleaning, at the same time learning the importance of
cleanliness. Tasks would vary depending upon which garden department he began
working in. If placed in the glasshouse range he would have been responsible for
carrying coals and keeping the boilers stoked. An important task would have been to
keep the ventilators adjusted in the houses to maintain a consistent temperature. As he
undertook these routine tasks he would have learned about the requirements of different
plants for heat, water and food, and how to deal with pests and diseases. If placed
outdoors, he would be taught how to recognise weeds, the importance of manure, how
to construct a hot-bed and the correct times of planting. All apprentices were required to
help wherever an extra pair of hands was needed. As their skills and knowledge
improved, they would be set to work with gardeners in each of the different garden
departments and would be expected, 'to learn the names of things; their uses in
gardening; how to use them in the best manner singly; and how to combine their use in
performing the different operations of gardening'. 138

Richard Littlejohn at Endsleigh assisted with the bedding out in May 1897, helped
shade the greenhouse roofs in June and, at other times, cleaned paths and sheds. He
helped bring in the orange trees in September and cleaned pumps, boilers and
greenhouses in winter. In February 1898 he 'stoned' soil to prepare it for potting, and in
June he was set to clip old flower heads from rhododendrons and to peg down plants to
enable them to root and form new off-shoots. He was also required to 'assist as
necessary' on a daily basis, helping in the greenhouse, the frame yard, the rock garden,
clearing scum off the pond, sorting begonias for storage, and in doing so managed to
spend time in most of the garden areas. For this work he was paid one shilling a day
when the normal daily wage of the other gardeners was 2s 6d. The only place where he
did not work was the kitchen garden. 139

Loudon was specific about where an apprenticeship should be held:

No one can ever expect to attain to the rank
tradesman who has not served an annrenticesh

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part'

general it is preferable to apprentice youths to master gardeners, as there the
labor is less than in tradesmen's gardens, and the opportunities of instruction
generally much greater. 140

maintained

families

gardens, but if they were intent on owning or managing a commercial concern then that

is where training should begin.

141

Conditions of apprenticeship varied: often a premium was paid to the head gardener and

• 142

the apprentice would receive in return bed and board and very little money.
Sometimes the premium was as much as ten guineas, but the apprentice could then be
paid five shillings a week for the first year, rising to seven shillings in the third year.
Many apprentices were sent to night-school or expected to educate themselves. Paying a

premium and undertaking self-education did not guarantee a job; an apprentice having

served his time, could still be turned away without a position.

Some apprentices succeeded in finding work. Of those listed on the database 125
remained as gardeners, one as a jobbing gardener, two became landscape gardeners,
eight became nurserymen and twenty-six became market gardeners and William Salter
became a foreman at Bicton. Three remained as garden labourers. Not all stayed
gardening; Ernest Allen of Plymouth became a timber yard labourer and Elias Sercombe
of Comwood, a railway booking clerk.

143

Journeymen

Having served an apprenticeship the majority of men opted to move from one garden to
another to gain experience in different areas of the garden. Before they could become
head gardeners it was necessary to gain experience in every garden department possible.
It was also preferred that at least one year should have been spent working in a
commercial enterprise such as a nursery, botanic or market garden.

Independent learning and experience were just as important to a career gardener as his
apprenticeship. Loudon implies that a journeyman (so named, not because he travelled,
but because he was paid by the day), would usually be aged under 30. 144 However of
the seventy-three journeymen listed in the Devon database, the youngest, George Toll

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part* 88

of Heavitree was aged 14 and the oldest, Thomas Hollwell of Exeter St Mary was 78,
which suggests that, in many cases, this was a catch-all term for those who were
employed on a daily, or a weekly, basis as well as young career gardeners. 145

A trainee gardener would have needed, as indicated above, to travel from one
establishment to another, or from department to department if the garden was large
enough. He would have aimed to work in the grandest gardens, not only because of the
prestige that went with the position, but also because certain head gardeners had
reputations for their teaching skills which could guarantee a future position in a good
garden when they moved on. For example, gardeners trained by James Barnes at Bicton
were in demand and went on to work at Chatsworth and Saltram and other top gardens.

Before attaining the position of head gardener, it was usual for gardeners to have
worked as a foreman. Only forty-four have been identified to date, aged between 21 and
56, half of which were foremen in nurseries. The private gardeners were mostly in their

twenties, three in their thirties and two in their forties. The nurserymen tended to be
older. Only three were in their twenties, with the majority in their thirties, three in their
forties and three in their fifties. This was because a foreman in a nursery was solely in
charge of a particular department, or acted as a manager for the owner. John Wooster,
known as a foreman, was a commercial traveller for Veitch and William Johnson was
•Foreman' at Fullers Nursery in Newton Abbot for 52 years, earning himself a RHS

Associate of Honour medal in 1930.

146

Men who took on the role of a foreman are often hard to trace through the records. In
the census it was rare for a man to be listed as a foreman, unless he was working for a
nursery. From estate records the main indication that a man was acting as a foreman was
usually that he was paid a little more than other garden workers, but not as much as the
head gardener. For example in 1854 Robert Scoble at Kitley was paid 3d per day more
than his fellow workers, at Streatham Hall the foreman was paid 3 s 4d per day when the
other gardeners were paid 3s per day, and at Endsleigh, Walter Friese was paid 3s a day,
6d more than the other gardeners. 147 A foreman might have been the one sent on

errands, to obtain plants from another garden for example, or allowed to visit an
exhibition with the head gardener. Conversely, it was usually the foreman who was left
in charge whenever the head gardener was away. 148

Chapter Two: *No Objection to go to Any Part'

The garden foreman acted as a middleman between the head gardener and the staff. He
assumed a great deal of influence. 'It was not for them to hire or fire, but should anyone
step out of line or fail to do as he was told, a word from the foreman to the Head could
mean trouble for the person concerned'. 149 Henry Armson was discharged by Paxton at
Chatsworth, 'for disobeying the foremans orders.' 150 They did, after all, have to protect
their own position. One foreman found, to motivate his men, 'I can get more work and
better done by a word of encouragement than by a week's grumbling'. 151

In a large garden the position of foreman was usually allocated according to the length
of service with a strict order determining who would be in line for promotion. It was an
invidious position as when in charge of the whole garden a man acquired a certain
authority for that time, but returned to a subservient position afterwards. In an ideal
situation, foremen who shared a bothy with other journeymen gardeners often had their

own room or even an office where they could keep a physical, as well as a hierarchical

distance, from the rest of their companions.

It was rare, though not unheard of, that a foreman was promoted from within a garden
unless it was a large one with several different departments. This was because it was felt
that it would be difficult to give orders and to discipline those with whom he had been
working side by side as equals, and likewise for the men to give him due respect. Head
gardeners preferred to appoint from another garden or to encourage a journeyman ready
for promotion to move to a different garden, even when he had been acting as foreman.

The Aged Gardener

Nowhere is the status, or lack of it, of the gardener more apparent than in old age. There
are 1,248 gardeners listed on the database who lived to be 70 or over, many of them still
working. Two hundred of these were 80 or over and ten were aged between 90 and 95.

Some gardeners worked until they died in service. This could cause problems for their
widows and family, especially if they were living in a tied cottage. When William
Kerslake died at Maristow, his wife Grace was forced to quit the gardener's house,
although she was paid for 'articles left by her in the garden house'. 153 At Escot too, the
family had to move when James Towel died in 1 862, despite his son John working on
the estate as a gardener's boy. 154 However, some older gardeners were partially
supported by an estate and could work reduced hours, or they were allowed to remain in

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

estate cottages to be called upon in times of need. Former 1
paid a pension. These included John Eames at Powderham. 155

young

aged men who were expected to be more settled. That age was a factor is evidenced by
how often it is mentioned in advertisements. There was a reluctance to hire older men,
making movement to a better job more difficult. A London nurseryman Samuel Badman
commented in 1872:

There is a growing disposition on the part of employers to hire only young men,
because they are strong and active; thus the man who is unfortunate enough to be
on the wrong side of fifty finds it a difficult matter to obtain a good situation, and
is more often than not compelled to seek employment in a nursery, or to run the
chance of any stray job that may turn up. 156

Older gardeners were considered more likely to become set in their ways and less likely
to be aware of new methods and introductions, using methods which were old-
fashioned, or resistant to change. * Gardeners too commonly are not sufficiently anxious
to keep themselves up with the times, either as regards their intelligence, their manners
or their production'. 157 These men, especially those without families, could look for a
position 'in the house'. William Dover of Plymouth and Robert Thompson at North
Tawton were live-in servants. 158 Here they would have been housed and fed and would
have kept the garden in order, sometimes with help, sometimes on their own. Widowed
gardeners such as William Cox at Poltimore and John Moore at Highweek frequently
lived with family, sometimes with an active role working with sons or sons-in-law,
sometimes simply to be cared for. 159 Many older gardeners, even those who had been
successful head gardeners, turned to become jobbing gardeners, which was hard work,
uncertain at best and poorly paid. 160 Richard Passmore, an unmarried gardener, was

living in one room when he died at Exeter in 1 890.

161

However, for head gardeners there was an element of stability in being settled. Time
spent in one garden gave an opportunity to follow their particular interests, to specialise
in plant breeding, to write books or articles, to compete at local horticultural shows or to

take

Four). Thrifty gardeners like Thomas Dowell at

Powderham and Richard Willis at Mamhead purchased an annuity which guaranteed

162

them an income upon retirement. Long serving gardeners were sometimes given an
'annuity of superannuation' such as the £26 payable in weeklv instalments to John

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part*

county lunatic asylum

Exminster for thirty-one years. 163

164

Several gardeners ended their lives in almshouses. In 1881 four gardeners were living in
Greenway Garden Almshouses in Tiverton, filling one quarter of the male residences.
These were Thomas Boyce, aged 80, still there in 1891, William Cude, aged 85, who
had been there in 1861, Nicholas Reed, aged 73, and John Sanders, aged 80. Other
inmates included a retired brewer, carpenter and wheelwright, two shoemakers and two
former masons. At Exeter St David, the Attwells Almshouses also held a high
proportion of gardeners, three out of twenty four dwellings. In 1851 John Raltenbury
was living in one of these dwellings and Mary Farnham, a gardener's widow, in
another. Also in Exeter were the Wynards Almshouses in Holy Trinity and the
Northernhay Almshouses, both with two former gardeners each. All these areas had a
high concentration of market and private gardeners. It is not known whether any rent
was payable in these houses, but a note against the entry for Northernhay states 'All
living on charity in Almshouse', so it is assumed that these at least, were rent free.
George Sclater, William Payne and George Lewis, inhabitants of Attwells Almshouses
in 1881, were all 'non-domestic' gardeners. The only two confirmed private gardeners
in almshouses found to date were William Furse who lived in the Underwinnard
Almshouses at Pilton in 1891, and William Bicknell in St Sidwell's parish, Exeter. At
the women's almshouses inNortham, Grace Sanders and Grace Lewis were residents in
1851 and 1861 respectively. Sanders was 86 and described her occupation as 'working
in the garden', whereas Lewis was a 'garden weeder'. 166 Whether these were their

previous occupations or work that they were doing while in the almshouse is not known.

165

The very poorest gardeners, or those with physical or mental impairments, were forced
to live in the workhouse. In 1851 there were fourteen gardeners, aged between 44 and

87, in workhouses in Newton Abbot, Kingsbridge, Stoke Damerel, Barnstaple, Tiverton,
Bideford, Plymouth, Crediton and Exeter. The largest number, four, were in Newton
Abbot and three were in Exeter. Two were unmarried, six married and six widowed. By
1881, reflecting the increase in the number of gardeners, the figures for those in
workhouses had almost doubled to twenty-six gardeners in eleven workhouses. 167 Ten
were in their seventies and the oldest, William Home in Holsworthy Union workhouse
was 95. The numbers are too few to suggest any pattern, although by 1881 the majority
of inmates were either unmarried or widowed, with onlv four being married, which

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

suggests that older married gardeners were either self-sufficient or being cared for
elsewhere, by their children for example.

If a gardener was unsuccessful, he would continue to work for as long as he was able. In
arguing for a 'Gardeners' Benefit Society', one man, 'a gardener', explained the
necessity of having a society to help care for the elderly gardener:

There is no class of men so ill provided for in their old days as gardeners. The
reason is obvious; in their youthful days they are generally a wandering race, and
seldom think of ioining benefit societies till they are too old to be admitted.

There were benefit societies to which a gardener could belong. These included the
United Gardeners' Benevolent Society, based at Waterloo Arms, Camberwell in Surrey.

Established in

insurance

and pension, for

169

contributions of 2s 3d per month, but only for gardeners under 35 years of age. The
United Horticultural Benefit and Provident Society was a self-help society, and the

Orphan Fund, with

children. The subscnption to the Gardeners Royal Benevolent Institution was one
guinea a year for a minimum of fifteen years or £10.10s paid up front. A gardener
would be placed on the pension list if of good character and incapacitated from work.
Provided he had paid sufficient subscriptions, he could receive £20 a year for life. There
was also some provision made for aged and destitute gardeners. Benefits for sickness
and permanent disability from work was 10s a week for year one, 7s per week for year
two and 3s per week thereafter. 171 In 1893, the Treasurer Mr. H. J. Veitch expressed a
concern that there were a large number of pensioners over 80 years of age. There were
two aged 87, one 88 and another at 89. Two members had been pensioners for twenty-
one years. 172 This longevity of retired gardeners put a strain on pension reserves, despite
the amount paid being insufficient to live on.

Summary

Gardeners moved more frequently than many other professions because it was a
necessary part of their career path to gain as wide and varied experience as possible. Not
all gardeners moved from choice, John Cameron in 1827 complained bitterly about

owners who changed their gardeners every three or four months. Ultimately he thought
this would lead to the destruction of the garden as 'every new gardener must make a

change' and he advocated owners 'to keep their gardeners for a minimum of four or five

years'. 173

Self education was as important as gaining knowledge of practical skills. A man who
could read, write and dress well would progress up the hierarchy much faster than one
who was content just to work in a garden. There were possibilities for promotion even
for those of the labouring class:

There are a number of men who, beginning as boys attendant on the foreman in
charge of some piece of park or garden construction, have developed a special
aptitude and love for the work, and have, through sheer grit and determination,
educated themselves to the position of "landscape foreman" (as the post is
termed, for lack of a better name), capable of appreciating and translating into
actuality the best traditions of my practice. 174

Those with determination, skill and social graces eventually found a rewarding position

where they would have respect and be called 'Mr' by staff and owners. Here they could
settle until retirement, or move to become a proprietor of a market garden or nursery of
their own. Loudon reiterated as early as 1832:

The young and scientific have nothing to fear; every year their value will be
better and better understood; but the young, whose education has been neglected,
and the grown-up gardener, who belongs to what may be called the old school,
may henceforth both lay their account with falling rather than rising in the
world. 175

For those who did not reach the top of their profession, or who were unable to maintain

return

part

possible to move permanently up the social scale, or to move up and back down again
over a lifetime.

Young gardeners who invested their money in advertisements, in paying premiums to
gain a position or for training and in payment of examination fees, had a degree of
success and it was possible for those with sufficient ambition and strength of will to go
from humble beginnings to rise to become head gardeners or nurserymen, but in order
to do so, movement was inevitable. The gardener who remained on the same estate in
the same job for the whole of his career as did Ted Humphris at Aynho,
Northamptonshire and John Prince who worked for the Strode family at Newnham Park,
Devon, was unusual. In the latter case the whole family worked on the estate. One of

Chapter Two: 4 No Objection to go to Any Part*

John's brothers was a gamekeeper, another a labourer and his father had also been a
gamekeeper. 176

Thomas Bartlett head gardener for Lady Duckworth of Knightleys in Exeter, member of
The Devon and Exeter Gardeners' Mutual Improvement Association summed up the
importance of ambition for gardeners who hoped to succeed in their profession when he

wrote:

young members are ambitious; a man cannot

an ideal and a high one; try

trying

and, on a more practical note, 'Don't drink, don't chew, don't smoke, don't swear, don't

earnest, be self-reliant

gentleman' .

177

1 J. C. Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (London, 1822), 1 199.

2 Thomas Allwood, James Pudner, James Taylor and George Bedford were just a few who began then-
working lives as farm servants. George Glandfield and Walter Hutchings, aged 9 and 10, were
'Apprentice gardeners*.

3 John Burnett (ed.), Useful Toil: Autobiographies of Working People from the 1820s to the 1920s 2 nd edn
(London, 1994), xvii.

4 Ian D. Whyte, Migration and Society in Britain 1550-1830 (Basingstoke, 2000), 1, 4.

5 Michael Drake, 'Aspects of Domestic Service in Great Britain and Ireland, 1841-191 1\ Family and
Community History, 2:2 (1999), 1 19-128, 122: Whyte, Migration, 40.

6 Jessica Gerard, Country House Life: Family and Servants, 1815-1914 (Oxford, 1994), 162, 174.

7 Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Ireland, 'On High Seas', South Africa, Scotland,
Switzerland, USA, Wales.

8 Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Jersey, Cornwall, Cumberland,
Derby, Dorset, Durham, Essex, Guernsey, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle
of Man, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northamptonshire,
Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxford, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk,
Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Yorkshire,

9 Gerard, Country House Life, 179.

10 'Wanted Under Gardener (Scotch preferred) experienced in the cultivation of Fruit*, was a typical
advertisement placed by E.C. of Crediton in the Devon Weekly Times (DWT) 7.06.1872, 4a; Gardener's
Magazine (GM) 16 (1840), 245; Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society Proceedings
at the General, Quarterly, and Annual Meetings 1849 and 1850 (Taunton and London, 1851), 15.

" Filleigh Baptisms 1838-1875, 40, 44, 47, 52 and Filleigh Burials 1838-99, 26-28 transcribed by David
Ryall. Available from http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Filleigh [Accessed 15 September 1998].

12 See, for example, The Garden 28.06.1890, 609 and 30.1 1.1895, 427.

13 The Garden 20.07.1895, 52.

14 The Garden History Society News 77 (2006), 18.

15 The enumerators' return for Baildon shows that his two oldest sons were born in the parish of
Whimple, which confirms his presence in Devon.

x6 Census Enumerators ' Returns (Census), Public Record Office (PRO) RG10-12 1871-1891; Devon
Record Office (DRO) Z19/20/36; Kelly's Directory of Devonshire (London, 1883).
17 Bedfordshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Dorset, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Kent,
Lancashire, London, Middlesex, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Sussex, Warwickshire, Wiltshire,
and Yorkshire.

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part' 95

18 See Frederick Excell, Kent, Richard Gardener, Warwickshire, Sydney Day, Oxford, for example.

19 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1 1 99-2000.

20 EFP 14.10.1897, 4e.

21 EFP 14.10.1897, 4e.

22 Census PRO RG13 Holbeton, 1901.

23 DWT 08.04. 1895, 6g.

24 Plymouth and West Devon Record Office (PWDRO) 69/M/6/1 14-116.

25 Census PRO RG11 Bovey Tracey, 1881; PRO RG12 Compton Gifford and Sidmouth, 1891; PRO RG9
Clyst St Mary and Sidmouth, 1861.

26 James McPhail, The Gardener's Remembrancer (London, 1807), 155.

27 Census PRO RG9 Bideford, 1861.

28 Census PRO RG9 Exeter St Leonard and Holy Trinity, 1861, PRO RG12 Bicton, 1891.

29 Census PRO HO 107 Dartmouth, 1851, PRO RG12 Dawlish, 1891.

30 Census PRO RG9 Exeter St David, 1861; PRO HO 107 Dolton, 1851, PRO RG11 Broadhembury,
1881, Exeter St Sidwell, 1881, Widdicombe, 1881.

3 1 Census PRO HO 1 07 Dawlish, 1851; PRO RG 1 0 Beckenham, 1871.

32 DWT 04.08. 1871, 4a; 16.02.1872, 4a; 22.09.1871, 4a.

33 DWT 22.09.1871, 4a.

34 See, for example, The Times, 10.07.1872, 3a; 09.09.1884, 12e; 10.09.1884, 14d.

35 Western Times, 13.02.1863,4a.

36 The Gardener's Magazine 15 (1872), 91.

37 Census PRO HO 107 Churchstanton and Alphington, 1851; Heavitree and Talaton, 1841, PRO RG10
Pilton, 1871; PRO RG12 Farringdon, 1891.

38 PWDRO 69/M/7/28.

39 PWDRO 69/M/6/55/116, 123, 124, 126, 127, 130, 162.

40 Gardener's Chronicle (GC) 05.07.1890, 30.

41 GC 30.07.1887, 146; GC 20.08.1887, 235; GC 5.02.1855, 79; See also GC 26.07.1890, 114; Exeter
Flying Post (EFP) 29.08.1869.

42 DWT 06.04.1871, 4a.

43 See DWT 10.04.1863, 4c; 1.05.1863, 4c; 22.5.1872, 4a.

44 GC 26.07.1890, 114.
43 GC 02.07.1 887, 30.

46 EFP 19.07.1876,4a.

47 GC 16.07.1887, 91.

48 The Times 30.01.1801, 4a and 25.08.1858, 12a

49 EFP 09.03.1815, 4e; The Times 07.01.1850, 12c.

50 The Times 06.09.1884, 3b.

51 Small sums could be sent in postage stamps. DWT 19.07.1872, 4a.

52 D0T25.1O.1872, 4a; 19.01.1877, 4a.

53 DWT 19.04.1872, 4a; 20.03.1863, 4a.

54 CG 26.07.1890, 1 14; EFP 1 1.12.1861, 4a.

55 EFP 14.08.1834; DWT 3 1.05.1895, 4a.
56 DR0961M/M/E34.

57 DRO 7140 (96M) East Devon Rental and Account 1884; DRO 961M/M/E34.

58 GC 19.07.1890.

59 The Times 18.09.1862, 3a; GC 26.07.1890.

60 The Garden 22.07.1893, 88.

61 William Wynne, 'Some Account of the Nursery Gardens and the State of Horticulture in the
Neighbourhood of Philadelphia, with remarks on the Subject of the Emigration of British gardeners to the
United States', GM8 (1832), 275.

62 The Gardener's Gazette 15.07.1837, 433.

63 Pamela Sambrook, Keeping Their Place: Domestic Service in the Country House 1 700-1920 (Stroud,
2005), xi.

64 Merlin Waterson, The Servants ' Hall: A Domestic History o/Erdigg (London, 1980) 10

65 Census PRO RG11-12 Mamhead,1881, 1891.

66 PWDRO 874/2/2.

67 Census PRO RG10 Buckland Brewer, 1871.

68 GC 26.07.1890.

69 Census PRO RG10-RG14 Farringdon, 1871 to 1891, Exeter 1901

70 EFP 4.08.1814.

71 GM, 17 (1841), %6\Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener 18.11.1862 655

Arthur Hooper, Life in the Gardeners ' Bothy (Suffolk, 2000), 9.

Chapter Two: «No Objection to go to Any Part'

73 Basil and Jessie Harley, A Gardener at Chatsworth: Three Years in the Life of Robert Aughtie 1848-
1850 (Worcestershire, 1992), 100.

74 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1200.

75 Waterson, The Servants ' Hall, 10.

76 The Gardener (1 870), 88.
77 GM8(1832),499.

78 Neutral, 'Conduct of Head-Gardeners towards Journeymen* in Gardener's Magazine, 5, (1829), 101.

79 See Art III. 'On the Disabilities experienced by young Gardeners in acquiring professional and general
knowledge', GM9 (1833), 165-173, 168; Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener 23.04.1861, 55;
The Gardener 's Magazine 27.0 1 . 1 872, 54

80 GC 06.08.1887,178; GC 05.07.1890, 31; GC 09.07.1887, 63.

81 GC 30.07.1 887, 147.

82 GC 20.08.1887, 235.

83 GC 20.08.1887, 235.

84 An Under-Gardener, Sudbury Hall, 'The Education of Young Gardeners' in Journal of Horticulture
and Cottage Gardener 23.04.1861, 55-56, 55.

85 Paul Brassley, 'Agricultural science and education', inAHEWVol Vii 1850-1914 Part 1 ed. E. J. T.
Collins (Cambridge, 2000), 594-649, 622.

86 Brassley, 'Agricultural', 626.

87 Alec Ellis, Educating Our Masters (Hampshire, 1985), 28, 103.

88 J. C. Loudon, 'Catalogue of Books for a Garden Library' GM2 (1827), 108-20, 109.

89 DRO QS 32/195-366; 143/1-4; 34/148A.

90 William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon including The City of Exeter

2 nd edn, (Sheffield and London, 1850),102-3.

91 M. Billings, Directory & Gazetteer of the County of Devon (Birmingham, 1857), 55.

92 EFP 30.05.1877, 4a.

93 Devon and Exeter Institute Tracts 129/27 Report, List of Donations, and rules and regulations of the
Devon & Exeter Boys Industrial School (1868). Rule 1; DRO 3 1 14Add/PB12.

9A Report (im).

95 Report (im).

96 EFP 29.09.1880, 4a.

97 EFP 10.06.1852, 4e.

98 The Times 01.07.1896, 7f.

99 Brassley, 'Agricultural', 648.

100 The Garden 01.04.1893, 270.

101 Although their profession was stated, the lists do not always specify from which garden.

102 The Garden 24.12.1892, Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society (JRHS) 26:1-2, August 1901,
265-6.

103 Maxwell T. Masters and James Douglas, Examiners, JRHS 19:1 August 1895, 2.

104 Masters and Douglas, Examiners, JRHS 20:1 August 1896, 58.

103 George Henslow, and James Douglas, Examiners, JRHS 21:1 August 1897.

106 Henslow and Douglas, Examiners, JRHS 26:1-2 August 1901, 267.

107 The Garden, 19.12.1891.

108 The Garden 18.06.1892, 569.

109 GM\9 (1843), 434.

110 Hooper, Gardeners 9 Bothy, 1.

111 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1324-5.

112 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1324.

113 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1330.

114 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1329.

115 Loudon, 'Catalogue', 108-20.
Il6 Loudon, 'Catalogue', 114-118.

117 'The Effect of a General Penny Post on Periodical Literature', The Times 09.05.1839, d.

118 J. C. Loudon, Self Instruction for Young Gardeners (London, 1847).

119 James Caird, English Agriculture in 1850-51 [1852], 2 nd edn (London, 1967), 492.

121

James Housman, 'Reading necessary and advantageous to Gardeners' in GM, 4 1828, 461-463. 461.
77k? Garden 22.03.1890, 266.

Robert Fish, 'On the Importance of Gardeners' possessing general and scientific Knowledge, for the
Purpose of effecting Improvements in their Art', GM, 13 (1837) 49-55 51
123 The Garden 29.03.1890, 300.

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

124 DRO B961M/M/E34, On April 19 1864 an entry in the account book reads 'Admittance of Men to the
Lecture ls'.In January 1867, 6d was also paid for a 'ticket lecture'.

123 Practical Gardening: being a series of essays delivered by members and friends of the Devon and
Exeter Gardeners ' Mutual Improvement Association During the session 1891-2 (Exeter, 1893), Preface.
126 DWT 08.02.1895, 6f; Z30TO8.O3.1895, 6g; DWT 10.01.1896, 2c.

127 DWT 07.03.1895, 6g.

128 EFP 27.07.1895.

129 EFP 12.10.1897; 3.11. 1900

130 EFP 27.1 1.1867; EFP 6.05.1868 also Mr Craggs, gardener to J C Bowring Esq., Mr Mollen, gardener
to W. Brooks Esq., Mr Gillard, gardener to J. Daw Esq., and Mr Foote, gardener to Sir L. Palk of Haldon

House.

131 Harold Perkin, The Origins of Modern English Society, 1780-1880 (London, 1969), 70.
132 D0T7.O6.1895,5e.

133 Census PRO RG9 Exeter St Thomas, 1861.

134 Thomas H. Mawson, The Life and Work of an English Landscape Architect (London, 1927), 26-27.

135 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1 199.

136 Not beyond the age 1 7.

137 Devon Census returns 1851-1901; DRO 3009A-99/PO9/28; DRO 3212A/P01 13/1/82; DRO 3610Z
and add 2-4; EFP 29.08.1877; PWDRO 874/3/14.

138 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1324.

139 DRO 3610Z and add/1.

140 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1 199.

141 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1324.

142 GC 20.08. 1887.

143 Census PRO RG1 1 Cardynham, Cornwall, 1881; PRO RG13 Plymouth Charles, 1901.

144 From the French 'journee' meaning a day. John Ayto, Bloomsbury Dictionary of Word Origins
(London, 1990), 309.

145 Census PRO HO107 Heavitree, 1851; PRO RG9 Exeter St Mary Major, 1861.

146 GM4(\ 828); H. R. Fletcher, The Story of the Royal Horticultural Society (Oxford, 1969), 507.

147 DRO 3610Z and add/1; PWDRO 74/729; DRO Z19/20/36.

148 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1200.

149 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 1 0.

150 Harley and Harley, 152, 4 th June, 1849.

151 A Foreman, The Gardener 01.03.1902, 146.

152 The Garden 15.03.1902, 179 and 16.08.1902, 116.

133 PWDRO 874/3/43 May 9 th 1837.

134 DRO 961M/add E34 September 9* 1862.

135 DRO 1508M/Devon/Accounts/V64.

136 Samuel Badman, 'Present Position and Future Prospects of Gardeners', The Gardener's Magazine
(1872), 404-5, 404.

137 Badman, 404.

Census PRO RG 1 1 Plymouth and North Tawton, 1881.

1S8

139 Census PRO RG1 1-12 Poltimore, 1881, Highweek. 1891.

160 Archibald McNaughton, 'On the Life of a Jobbing Gardener' GM, 1, (1826), 24-26.

161 EFP 5.04.1890.

162 Powderham Castle C/2/7 Box 3 F136; DRO 867B/E8/1.

163 EFP 18.10.76.

164 Census PRO RG11 Tiverton, 1881.

163 Census PRO RG11 Exeter St David, 1881.

166 Census PRO RG 1 2 Pilton, 1891; PRO HO 1 07 Northam, 1851; PRO RG9 Northam, 1861.

167 Plymouth, Bideford, Exeter Union, Exeter City, Axminster, Barnstaple, Stoke Damerel, Holsworthy,
Totnes, Tavistock and Newton Abbot.

168
169

170 The Garden 11.02.1893, 117; 18.03 1893,224.

171 The Garden 28.01.1893, 77.

172 The Garden 1.07.1893, 17-18.

173

John Cameron, 'On the Conduct of Gardeners and their Employers*, GA/3, (1827), 156-157.
Mawson, Life & Works, xv.

175 GMS (1832), 131.

176 PWDRO 273/306.

177 Glenny, Practical Gardening, 13, 15.

A Gardener, Hillfield, Near Stanmore, Middlesex in The Gardeners ' Gazette 4 (1 837) 57
GC 3.02.1855, 65.

Chapter Two: 'No Objection to go to Any Part'

CHAPTER THREE

'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

Introduction

Garden Labourers
Jobbing Gardeners
Women in the Garden

Bothy Living
Remuneration of Gardeners
Working Conditions
Rules and Regulations

Tools

Lawnmowers
Chemical Aids

Gardeners' Tasks

Summary

CHAPTER THREE

'Of Operators or Serving Gardeners' 1

Of serving gardeners, there are two species, with their varieties; the public
gardener and private gardener. The latter is the only species to be recommended

in a general way. 2

New garden fashion, imported plants and new techniques increased the demands made
on gardeners throughout the century. Tools with which the men worked also changed,
generally for the better, with the use of stronger and more lightweight materials.
Mechanisation brought a need for new skills which included maintenance of machinery.
Gardeners also had to acquaint themselves with chemicals as new pesticides and
fertilisers were developed. Changes were reported and commented on in the
horticultural press which engendered a small industry to cater to a demand for

information.

By the twentieth century, gardeners had split into two distinct groups. The first were
little more than agricultural labourers, often locally bom and with basic practical
training gained through working with more experienced gardeners. Many of these men
undertook the heavy unskilled work such as digging and hoeing. On some estates they
also worked in the fields during harvest time and in the woodlands during the winter. 3 It
was rare for a garden labourer to advance to the position of head gardener, but some
developed highly prized skills relevant to gardening such as pruning, grafting or
mowing with a scythe, a skill that did not die out with the advent of the lawnmower.
They also knew the soil, terrain and climate of their particular area far better than some
career gardeners who moved from garden to garden in search of experience. The second
group were the professional men who entered a garden as a garden boy, apprentice or
improver with the sole intention of becoming a head gardener. The education of these
men has been looked at in Chapter Two. This chapter considers the daily lives of
practical working gardeners, their duties, wages, living and working conditions.

Introduction

The 'serving gardeners' of the nineteenth century were mostly those who worked in the
private gardens of the aristocracy, the gentry and the wealthier middle classes. Known
as 'gardener domestic servant', 'gardener (employee)', 'garden labourer' or simply
'gardener' in the census enumerators' books; as 'the gardener' or 'your gardener' or

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners' 100

'garden labourer' in estate accounts, these were the men, and some women, who laid
out, planted and maintained the gardens of the nineteenth century. The number of
gardeners employed nationally increased significantly throughout the second half of the

century

By 1891, in Devon, census statistics show there were 6,157 gardeners,
nurserymen and seedsmen serving a population of just over 630,000. 4 This number had
more than doubled from the figure of 2,495 in 1851. However, this does not tell the
whole story. Due to inaccuracies in the returns and the way that the statistics were
compiled, some gardeners were missed from this total. For example, by trawling
through the census returns of 1851 an additional 115 Devon gardeners were found.
These included those who listed their occupations as 'groom and gardener' or
'coachman and gardener', and who would have been counted under their first
occupation. 5

Figure 3:1. Comparison of increase of domestic gardeners, market gardeners and
nurserymen in England and Wales with numbers in Devon

Date England Percentage Devon Percentage

and Wales Increase Increase

1841 53,650 1,436

1851 88,673 65.28 2,495 73.75

1861 96,071 8.34 2,815 12.83

1871 122,383 27.39 3,942 40.04

1881 148,285 21.17 4,873 23.62

1891 179,336 20.94 6,157 26.35

Source: Census Tables.'

Figure 3:2. Comparison of increase in population between England and Wales and
Devon 1841 to 1891

Date Population Percentage Population Percentage

England Increase Devon Increase
and Wales

1841 15,914,148 14.27 512,959 7.00

1851 17,927,609 12.65 567,098 10.55

1861 20,066,224 1 1.93 589,385 3.93

1871 22,712,266 13.19 601,374 2.03

1881 25,974,439 14.36 608,400 1.17

1891 29,002,525 11.66 636,225 4.57

Source: Census Tables as above.

Chapter Three: 4 Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

101

A large increase in the number of gardeners in 1851 was due to reclassification of men
who had been listed as labourer or male servant in the 1841 census (see Figure 3:1).
Insufficient coverage in 1841 meant many people were missed altogether from the
census returns. In similar fashion the increase in the number for the 1861 census was
partially due to many men being re-classified from 'agricultural labourer' to 'gardener'.
Although the population of Devon had not increased at the same rate as it had nationally
the number of gardeners per head of population was greater in Devon (see Figure 3:2).

There was an assumption that where the qualifier 'domestic' was used in census returns
that these gardeners were in service. This meant they would have been paid an annual
salary which usually included some form of accommodation. Those listed simply as
'gardeners' were deemed to be market or jobbing gardeners, or those who gardened in

private gardens but who were employed by the year, the week or as needed for a

particular job. These men were paid wages by the day or task. This does not help to
distinguish between those who were not listed as servants, but who worked in private
gardens, from those who worked in market gardens and nurseries. Nor does it help

identify those who simply described their jobs as 'labourer', 'general', or 'agricultural'

labourer, yet were based in gardens. Some of these men have been identified through
estate labour books or from alternative records, such as parish registers.

By 1891, census categories were changed with information required as to whether an
individual was an 'employer', 'employed' or 'neither employer nor employed but
working on own account'. This still does not help distinguish those who worked in
private gardens from those employed in the commercial sector, although 'employers'
were almost always working for themselves as market or jobbing gardeners, nor does it
specify whether a man was skilled or unskilled. It is sometimes possible to identify
whether a gardener was living on or near an estate where they were most likely to have
worked. This however, is fraught with difficulty and speculation. Classification
becomes more difficult towards the end of the century as many who gardened in urban
areas for villa owners and small estates would have lived nearby, but not necessarily in
the house or garden. James Ratcliffe, for example, lived at Ashley Villa in Heavitree,
his employer at Bellair, a couple of streets away. 7 Comparison with directories has
helped distinguish between some individuals.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

102

To date it has been possible to identify a total of 4,481 gardeners who gardened in
private gardens from 1800 to 1900. This equates to almost thirty per cent of the 15,000

commercial sector.

he database. A further 6,301 'j
ssible to determine whether t
shown in Chapter Two many

different branches of the profession. John Coombes began his career as
labourer then became a private gardener. William Coleman and Frank Lan

began their careers as private gardeners; they worked a:
becoming market gardeners and finally returning to jobbing.

Figure 3:3. Percentage of private gardeners by age 1800-1899

Source: Gardener database.

A gardener could have been any age from nine to ninety, although it has been difficult
to find ages prior to the census of 1841. 10 Many, in common with people of their time,
did not remember how old they were and sometimes there could be as much as a ten
year discrepancy from one census year to another. Analysis of the ages of gardeners
throughout the century suggests the most common age group was in the range 21 to 30
years old with 26.7% of gardeners falling into this category. The least common age was
in the group 0-11, followed by the over 80 age group (see Figure 3:3 above). 11 Analysis
by decade shows these figures to remain consistent through the second half of the
nineteenth century. Gardening was hard work and therefore suited to younger men. By

Chapter Three: fc Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

103

the time a gardener had reached the age of thirty-five he had reached his peak physically
and hoped to be in a settled situation. Successful professional men became head
gardeners, or a 'first gardener' in a small establishment. Labourers aimed to be in a
secure position with income sufficient to raise a family.

Garden Labourers

The lowliest members of the gardening fraternity were garden labourers. Men were
employed for menial and heavy tasks such as trenching, digging, hoeing, weeding,
watering, carting manure and coals, and grass cutting. Women labourers undertook,
supposedly, lighter employment such as hand weeding, stone-picking, planting out
seedlings, harvesting, fruit picking and tidying up jobs. Girls worked alongside their

mothers to help at busy times. Boys too, helped with routine tasks especially weeding,

stone-picking and picking caterpillars from bushes.

By the time they were twelve or thirteen boys were employed in their own right. In the
1881 census, William White aged twelve, was listed as a 'gardener' to Mary Selwood,
'Lady' of East Cliff Lodge at East Budleigh and Frederick Horwill, also twelve worked
as a Garden Boy at Dunchideock House. Arthur Needs was only eleven when he was
employed at Huntsham Court where his widowed mother was caretaker. 13 There are 276
youngsters on the database who are known to have started work aged under fourteen.
One hundred and ten were aged between seven and twelve. The remaining 165 were
aged thirteen. These are only the youngsters who were listed in the census or similar
documents. The age of the 'boys', 'sons', and 'daughters' who appear in estate records
is rarely recorded.

Smaller gardens might have only had one permanent gardener in charge, with perhaps a
boy or labourer to help. The position of gardener was often combined with another role,
usually that of a groom or general handyman, and often an ability to milk a cow was
also called for. 14 Other roles were not uncommon, James Lugg at Plymstock in 1861
was a footman and gardener and William Cartwright at Doddiscombesleigh also acted
as a gamekeeper. 15 By the end of the nineteenth century, many villa owners would have
gardened themselves and employed a jobbing gardener to do the heavy work as and
when needed; or employed a coachman or groom who would also attend to the garden.

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

104

At Endsleigh in 1897, Charles Westlake, George Hendy and William Whiting were
kitchen gardeners. John Southcott spent most of his year mowing and pruning; Thomas
Yole was in charge of the flower gardens, James Stephens dealt with the water features,

maintaining the leat in Dairy Dell and cleaning out the pond. The other gardeners laid
turf, planted, weeded and tidied, they also undertook heavier work in areas further away
from the house. 16 The fact that these men worked exclusively in discrete areas argues
for a degree of specialism which helped career advancement and illustrates well the
journeyman system where gardeners moved from garden to garden to obtain experience
in different departments. It also emphasises the difference between knowledgeable and
labouring gardeners.

Most men remained as under gardeners, garden assistants or journeymen all their

working lives. Some had specialist jobs. John Crocker (1878), William Stoneman
(1891) and James Couch (1901), were known as 'Stokers' who looked after the boilers
for the greenhouses at Streatham Hall and probably cared for the central heating boiler

These were not young apprentices but men in their thirties and

forties. 17 Richard Northcott, the carter at Endsleigh was paid an extra 2d a day. 10 A
garden carter was generally paid slightly more than his workmates because, in addition
to his other duties, he had a horse to care for before the other men started work and
again when they had finished. Produce was taken to market or to the station; coal,

manure and plants were brought into the garden. Rubbish was carted from one area of
the garden to be disposed of in another. 19 If there was sufficient room, the horse could
also be used to help in ploughing the kitchen garden.

Apart from gardening, gardeners undertook a variety of tasks. One winter job was to fill
the ice house. To ensure a good supply of ice for the summer months, shallow pools
were constructed, frequently, but not always, near the ice house. When there was
sufficient depth of ice it was broken up and dragged to the side of the pond with long
poles. At the icehouse it was packed down tightly and covered with a thick layer of
sawdust, straw or matting for insulation. 20 Gardeners were employed for this job
because it was a quiet period in the garden. At Escot on January 8 th 1867, twenty men
were paid extra for taking in ice at 9d a day each for two days. The following year
eighteen men were only paid 6d extra per day, but were also supplied with twenty
gallons of beer to share. At the other extreme, gardeners were also trained as fire-
fighters. 22

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners' 1 05

The core garden staff were not laid off during the winter; there were always
maintenance tasks to be undertaken, especially in glasshouses, which needed cleaning

and fumigating. Snow had to be beaten off trees and shrubs so none broke under the

weight. Other tasks were found to keep men busy, these included collecting sand from
the beach, digging holes for trees and shrubs or clearing roads. 23 Bad weather and the
winter months gave an opportunity to clean equipment, chop wood, make labels, sort
stored vegetables, make birch brooms and sharpen sticks and stakes. 24 When there were
storms as on August 11 th 1897 and May 1 st 1898, every gardener helped in the clearing

up process. 25

Gardeners were also used as 'watchers'. This term covered a variety of jobs. Five men
were paid for guarding and keeping fires burning in the new wings at Bicton House in

1842. In total £32.1s.6d was paid for 'watching nightly'. At Christmas, evergreens
were taken to be sold in local markets for decoration. Watchers were paid to guard
against this theft. There was also a problem of plant stealing where there were a lot of
strangers visiting a garden, especially when the general public were admitted, but

visitors to Bicton in 1850 were confronted with notice boards aimed to deter would be

thieves. The board assumes that these people could read, which informs about the
visitors hoping to take home specimens for their own gardens (see Figure 3:4).

Figure 3:4. Wording on cautionary notice board at Bicton

A gardener at a hole looks out

And holes are plenty hereabouts

A pair of pistols by his lug,

One load with ball, the other slug.

A blunderbuss of cannon shape,
Just ready to discharge with grape

Let midnight thief or robbers stand,

And pause ere to put forth his hand,
While those who come in open day
May look but carry nought away.

Source: William Pollard, Pollard's Official History and Guide to Exeter (Exeter, 1894), 92

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

106

Jobbing Gardeners

The life of a jobbing gardener was difficult and uncertain. In 1894 and 1896
respectively he was described as occupying, 'the least enviable position in the ranks of
the gardening fraternity', and as, 'a Jack of all trades who is supposed to know and to do
anything or everything' . 27 Jobbing gardeners had a bad reputation for poor quality work,
a lack of knowledge and for being light-fingered, but Malcolm Dunn claimed;

In their ranks are many excellent gardeners and employers who have seen better
times, but through stress of circumstances, failing health, or misfortune arising
from no fault of their own, find themselves in a position where they are unable to
command regular daily service or permanent employment.

Although sympathetic to the lot of a jobbing gardener, he also noted that there were
some who, ' gravitate to this class from all other branches of the profession after having
been cast adrift by their own folly or incapacity', and that they took work from, 'capable
and reliable' men. 28

Thomas Johnson, of Exeter, fulfilled some of these descriptions in that he was described
as a pensioner who eked out his income as a jobbing gardener. He was accused, and
found guilty, of stealing a garden spade, fork and mattock and selling them. His
sentence was imprisonment for six weeks with hard labour. This was as much a

warning to other men as a punishment to Johnson.

The three areas which had the most jobbing gardeners were Axminster, Heavitree and

Torquay. This could be to do with the enumerators and how they made their returns, but
all three areas had nurseries and market gardens as well as growing urban development.
Torquay was also home to many villas with spacious gardens.

Monica Brewis suggests that once amateur gardeners had taken over their own
gardening that many gardeners were 'reduced to the status of a machine tool: a strong
pair of hands whose only value was to carry out the hard manual labour involved in
making the garden'. 31 However, some jobbing gardeners had specialist skills. An age
old tradition in Devon was that gardeners, such as William Moor in 1759, travelled
around the county moving from one garden to another to undertake pruning or grafting
work. 32 Seventy-five years later, William Shepherd and William Sanders were each paid
ten shillings a week, for four weeks, for pruning work done, 'on Mr Ilbert's property'.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners* 107

Jobbing gardeners worked as and when they could find employment. This might mean
working for a local nursery as did William Glanville, who worked for Veitch. He was
paid 12s a week and supplied his own tools. John Harvey at Moretonhampstead worked
in a market garden. Harry Denner was one of the men who combined a small market
garden business with jobbing for others. 34 An alternative would be that they would have
regular work with several employers, most frequently villa owners. J. Madge and his
son worked one day a week for Christopher Hamlyn at Paschoe Barton and a man called

Rookes worked for a Miss Burnett one day a week at Colleton Cresent Exeter. The latter

was paid 3 s 6d per day, but paid quarterly. 35 The Reverend Henry Burgess complained
that jobbing gardeners' charges were too high. They did however, have to provide all
their own tools and, even in London, Archibald McNaughton claimed the highest wage

he could command was three shillings a day.

Women in the garden

Women have generally been absent from histories of gardening, but this does not mean

that they were not active. Narratives have to be based on records available, which are
few and far between. Even Yvonne Cuthbertson, in writing her history of women
gardeners, had problems finding information about the very people she was attempting
to document. This necessitates many repetitions of the nature that, 'women were
employed as weeders' and that they, 'were responsible for the vegetable garden'. 37 Both

these statements are true until the vegetable garden, at least in estate gardens, increased
in importance. It then became the province of the head gardener. During the latter part
of the nineteenth century, as occupational and domestic roles changed, women were
considered to have more leisure time to look after their family and undertake more
feminine pursuits such as looking after a flower garden. Most vegetable gardening, even
in cottage gardens, became the province of men.

It was not until the very end of the nineteenth century that women were accepted as

'gardeners' in their own right. Even then worries had been expressed publicly about the
effect women would have on young men working in a garden. Additional concerns were
that they would not have sufficient strength to undertake the physical labour needed for
practical gardening. Of equal concern was that, in the unlikely event of becoming a head
gardener, that they would have difficulty in managing a garden. 38 Presumably, this latter
worry was more about how they would gain respect from the men working in a garden.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

108

Unless they were daughters of gardeners or nurserymen, it was difficult for women to
obtain practical training. An indication that daughters assisted their parents and learned
some of the arts of the nursery or market gardening business is in the fact that they
entered and won prizes in horticultural shows.

During the 1 890s several educational establishments were set up to provide courses in
agriculture and horticulture specifically aimed at women. Swanley Horticultural College
in Kent was one of the first establishments to take in women students in 1891. This was
so successful that by 1903 all 63 students were female. The first lady gardeners were
employed at the Botanic Gardens at Kew in 1895, causing a sensation when working in
their 'bloomers'. Here the horticultural school had eight women students by 1901. At
about the same time, Daisy, Countess of Warwick, set up a project called the

'Agricultural Scheme for Women' which aimed to encourage educated women to work
in light farming and gardening among other rural occupations. Together with Miss Edith
Bradley she set up a training establishment based at Reading University in 1898. In an
article in The Times Lady Warwick explained that her object:

...was to find a new opening for educated women of the middle classes by
affording them a training in what properly belongs to the lighter side of
agriculture - namely, dairy work, market gardening, poultry keeping, bee-
keeping, fruit-growing, horticulture, and the marketing of produce. 40

There were several reasons for enticing women into horticulture. These included the
worry about the amount of land going out of cultivation, the threat from food imports,
and the necessity to find work for educated middle-class women.

In the South West the Devon School of Gardening was set up in Ivybridge near
Plymouth by May Crooke and Mabel Carlyon two of the first students from Studley
College. The school, which was only in existence from about 1911 to 1917, catered for
young ladies who wished to learn about horticulture, and gave practical and theoretical
instruction. The students went from the school at Ivybridge to a college in Plymouth to
learn book-keeping as part of their course. The aim of the school was to 'turn out
women capable of filling some of the many posts offered, or of returning to their own
Estates or Gardens and working them to the very best advantage'. 41 This became more
necessary as so many young men were lost during the First World War. It has proved
difficult to find more than a few details of the establishment based in the gardens of

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

109

Stowford Mill which contained ten glasshouses, a variety of fruit trees and extensive
lawns and flower gardens. 42

These educational schemes were not aimed at working class women. At £50 to £70 per
year for a two or three year course, the fees were beyond the incomes of any but the
wealthier middle class. 43 A few were able to obtain scholarships which covered their
board as well as their fees. 44

There was however, an organisation which was designed to encourage women
agriculturalists to join together in support of each other. The Women's Agricultural and
Horticultural International Union (later the 'International' was dropped) was designed to
improve the lot of women working on the land. As Peter King states, there was no

intention that the upper class women who formed the Association should be allowed to

take part in the physical aspects of gardening. They were merely acting on the behalf of
gentlewomen wishing to gain employment on the land. The Union was aimed at
professional gardeners and farmers, but attracted several amateurs. The founder

members included fifteen working gardeners, ten dairy owners, twelve amateurs and six

small-holders 45

Another organisation with similar aims was the Women's Farm and Garden Association
which was founded in 1899 by the Countess of Warwick, and which is still in existence
today. One of the functions of these organisations was to act as an employment agency,
placing women gardeners in estate gardens. King comments that it was noticeable that
those women who trained at the horticultural colleges had less trouble in finding a
suitable position than those who were without qualifications 46

Women gardeners were under represented in the census returns 47 A breakdown of the
figures for 1851 in Devon and Cornwall shows some differences between the counties
(see Figure 3:5). Not only were there more women gardeners in Cornwall at this time,

but they commenced working at an earlier age, while in Devon it appears they worked
well into their 80s. Due to the way that census questions changed from decade to
decade, it is impossible to make a direct comparison between them, but the number of
women gardeners enumerated remained almost the same in Devon between 1851 and
1881, despite the fact that the number of male gardeners increased by approximately
two hundred per cent during the same period 48

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

110

Figure 3:5. Women gardeners by age from 1851 census

Devo

Occupation All 15- 20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55^ 60- 65- 70^ 75^ 8CT
Gardener 63 332244585612432

Cornwall

Occupation All 10- 15- 20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65- 70- 75-
Gardener 113 6 25 14 12 8 4 3 11 14 5 4 2 2 3

:e: Census (1851): population tables, part II: ages, civil condition, occup
olace of the people (PP 1854, LXXXVII vol 1); Census (1881) Volume I
marriage, occupations and birth-places of the people (PP 1883, LXXX)

The earliest records for women working in private gardens from the database are for
Mary Dawe, Mary Cole, Elizabeth Mead and Betty Merrivale (who became Betty
Judson), all of whom worked at Maristow in 1801. 49 Mary Hill is listed as a 'gardener'

in Pigot's Directory of 1830, and Mary Gibbs was a market gardener at Exeter St
Thomas in 1832. Ann Ford was a nurserywoman in 1835 and by 1841 there were five
female gardeners identified from census returns for Devon. These include Harriet
Kerswell, later a nursery proprietor of Exeter St Thomas and Ann Sears who gardened
in the same parish. Elizabeth Maddock and Sarah Vickary worked in Heavitree and Ann
Reeves at North Tawton. The latter four were probably market gardeners. 50 By 1851,
eighty-four wives, daughter and heads of household who worked in some capacity as a
gardener have been identified of which Mary Russell of Fortfield Nursery, Sidmouth
was not only head of her household, but also employed three men. 51 In 1861 there were
fifty-one additional women noted, in 1871 so far, only twenty have been found and from
the census enumerators' returns of 1881, 1891 and 1901, only sixty new women per
census have been identified. 52

The 1881 census summary tables suggest that there were only 45 women gardeners in
service in the whole of England and Wales. Three of these were in Somerset, but there
were none listed for Devon, Cornwall or Dorset. This was probably because women

who worked in gardens were not considered to be servants, but as daily or weekly
labourers. There were throughout England and Wales 2,364 women listed as non-
domestic gardeners plus 735 under the heading 'Nursery, Seedsman and Florist'. 53

Many of the former would have worked in estate gardens, the rest would have worked

in market gardens and nurseries as day labourers or seasonal workers.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

111

Although it is known that many women worked outside the home, either casually, part-
time or full-time, these occupations rarely appear in the census. It was recognised that
men often had more than one job and allowances were made for this in how occupations
were listed on the census form. The clerks who compiled the statistics for summary
tables took the first occupation listed as the most important one and therefore some
'gardeners' were lost by being excluded. Women, too, often had more than one
occupation, and certainly more than merely 'wife'. Edward Higgs suggests that the
figures collected for the census were inaccurate because they were a reflection of
'certain assumptions about the position of women in society'. 54 Part of this assumption

was that a wife was dependent on her husband, another that women's work was of little
importance and therefore not valued enough to be recorded.

Attitudes to women working underwent a change during the nineteenth century. The
1842 Commission on the Employment of Women in Agriculture concluded that 'in
Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon and Somerset work done by female parish apprentices and
adult women on the land was little different from that of men. 55 Charles Vancouver who
wrote the General View of the Agriculture of Devon had expressed horror that young
females should undertake such hard work and called for reform. 56 Bridget Hill suggests
this indicated a change in attitude to how women were perceived. Women and girls
were not doing anything different but Vancouver, and others, saw the work they were

undertaking as 'unfeminine and unsuitable for women'. 57

Women were forced through financial necessity to work for very low wages, often

earning less than their own sons. This was due in part to the labour economy which

assumed that a man would be able to earn sufficient to keep both wife and children, and
therefore a woman's wage was a bonus, not a necessity. However, this was not the case.
The addition of a woman's wage to a household income served to keep men's wages

low, yet because men's wages were so low, women had to work to supplement them.
Joyce Burnette maintained payment to adult males may have included remuneration for
work done by other members of the family. 58 This was true in the case of John Keddie's
wife, Ann who earned 2s 6d a week as a housekeeper in another of the Ilbert family
houses. Her income was paid not to her, but to her husband.

Many couples earned a joint income where the husband was a gardener and his wife
expected to occupy another role on the estate, as a lodge keeper, or laundress for

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

112

example. Gardeners' wives were expected to help when needed with weeding and
harvest regardless of other commitments. Census enumerators' returns did not take into
account large numbers of women who helped husbands or fathers in market gardens or
nurseries. When counting women who worked on farms, it was recommended to
enumerators that women helping with daily work should be listed as 'farmer wife'. This
occupation 'wife' term was used also with gardeners and suggests that many more
women were working as helpers in the family economy. 60 The fact that so many women
took over a business when widowed, suggests that they probably had previous
experience of working alongside their husbands as they did in estate gardens.

More than six hundred women are listed on the database as 'gardener's wife'. Most
would have helped their husbands. A further eighty-seven stated specifically that they
worked in the garden, either a market garden or nursery. Sixteen per cent of gardeners'
wives on the database were laundresses. A further sixteen per cent had portable craft
occupations such as dressmaker, milliner, glover, or lace-maker. There are also thirty-
eight servants listed, nineteen charwomen, thirty-nine house-keepers, and fifty-nine

cooks. A few wives had higher status occupations; thirteen were teachers, three were

midwives and Pheobe Bridgeman was a post-mistress. 61

At Saltram in the 1 820s Mary Lewis was employed in the flower garden while Mary

Grigg worked in the kitchen garden. Both women worked between twenty-three and
twenty-seven days per calendar month all the year round. In other gardens women

during the spring and summer

male labour. 63 Betty Trewin and Ann Grear worked as weeders at Maristow in 1820.
Women's tasks included repetitious work such as collecting and clearing away
primings, following the men after they had mown the lawn to collect grass cuttings,
picking caterpillars from gooseberry bushes and cabbages, sweeping paths and court-
yards. Much of the harvesting was also done by women, fruit picking, seed, nut, berry
and cone gathering. In 1847 Ann Morrish was paid to collect hawthorn berries and
acorns at Powderham for planting in the nursery. 65 One of the main tasks was weeding.
Women weeded borders, lawns, hedges and paths as well as crops in the garden.
However, towards the end of the nineteenth century, new chemicals for weeding gravel
paths, and for pest control, combined with boxes to collect grass cuttings, saw fewer
women needed in a garden. Some of the tasks traditionally undertaken by women
became the province of garden boys and apprentices.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

113

Bothy Living

At smaller establishments where most gardeners had been drawn from sons of estate
workers, young lads remained at home with their families. However, an increased
number of apprentices, improvers, journeymen and foremen, mostly single men in their
twenties and thirties, who travelled from garden to garden in search of work and
experience, needed housing and so the bothy system was introduced where single
gardeners were provided with accommodation of their own. This was not always a
comfortable experience as many bothies were built on the north side of the kitchen
garden and were little more than store sheds that had been converted to basic
accommodation. They were frequently dark, damp and poorly equipped. Even as late as
1929 at Norman Court in Hampshire, the bothy had insufficient chairs for the number of
gardeners (six), no furnishings in the sitting room and no running water.

Many, perhaps most, owners of large places are fully aware of the great benefit
that a well-arranged bothy is to the lads and young men, to whom it is a home for
perhaps a couple of years of their life, at an age when good housing, away from
temptations, and in addition, some kindly leading and careful watching may
make the whole difference in the bent of a life. 68

In 1902 the Editorial above began an attempt to encourage owners and head gardeners

to improve bothies in which men lived. This inspired a flurry of letters to the editor
describing the experiences, most of them poor, of bothy inhabitants. Improvements were
suggested many of which were not luxuries but access to basic necessities.

A bothy was an asset to a garden where someone needed to be on the spot to attend to
boilers, or to ventilate glasshouses as necessary, where a delay might have resulted in

harm to plants. At night, *men on [greenhouse] duty had to be up every four hours
which took about an hour to register temperatures of various houses'. 69 Despite set
hours of work, bothy gardeners were effectively 'on duty' for twenty four hours a day,

and when not at work were expected to undertake some form of study. The employers'
attitude to bothy living, endorsed by many head gardeners, was that the discomfort
endured in their accommodation was somehow character strengthening. The

careful and

provident' .

The chief drawback perhaps, setting aside the question of expense, is the fear of
making things too easy at the outset of life, which must needs be difficult in the
long run, at the risk of weakening individual character and effort. 71

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners* 1 14

It was as if the career of gardening was sufficient reward in itself and basic living

standards were deemed unimportant. This attitude was galling to many gardeners as the
plants they cared for lived in much better conditions than they did themselves.

R.B. was one of the first gardeners to respond to the editorial explaining:

The

a mere shelter in most

farm lads, with national frugality and

means something very

and very rightly so and well managed is an admirable institution

The problem was that too few were well managed. R.B. explained the dilemma of a
bothy from the point of view of the employers, seeking to excuse the poor living
conditions. He talked of the agricultural depression which had forced landowners 'to
reduce their outlay' suggesting that 'a suitable building, simply, but adequately
equipped' was a 'costly addition to the working expenses of a garden'. He went on to
maintain that gardeners preferred an independent life. He suggested that, where a bothy
could not be provided, a building be set aside for use at meal times and 'as a reading
and recreation room in the long winter evenings'. From the tone of the letter, it
suggests that this was written by a head gardener, who would have been ultimately
responsible for the well-being of gardeners in his charge. His reasoning that the
agricultural depression was to blame for the poor quality of bothies is invalid as
complaints had been made about poor accommodation for young men before the
depression. Alexander Somerville in 1848 had written:

Outside the bothy, all was flowery green, and ornamental... yet behind the bricks
in that floral paradise, the greenhouse, there was our sleeping place, as odiously
unhealthy as it has ever been my misfortune to know a sleeping place to be. 74

S.P. from Hertfordshire had no concerns about the employers' point of view and
complained that 'well-arranged, home-like bothies' were 'like high wages in gardens,
few and far between'. 75 He had a litany of complaints from the lack of a good
housekeeper, to the shortage of beds, and the only bathroom 'the stove tank with

perhaps enough water in it to cover your ankles, if it is filled by what falls off the

roof.

The most common complaints about bothies were regarding living conditions.
Gardeners criticised accommodation which flooded, or which was difficult to cet to:

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

115

To reach my room which served both as kitchen and bedroom, I was obliged to enter

the stable and climb a ladder to a trap-door above'. 77 One bothy was:

and

north, through a stoke hole, through the mushroom house, a tool place and

another shed A comer room, low lean-to roof, a miserable bed with

conglomeration of clothes, the sheets as black as the black coverlet.

A lack of running water was felt very strongly. Very few bothy gardeners, even at the
end of the century seemed to have had basic washing and toilet facilities. A shortage of
furniture led to some men sharing beds and chairs. An example of the sparseness of
furnishing is shown by the list of items in the Lodge at Streatham Hall. These included
an iron fender and ash pan, a meat safe and bench in the kitchen, a wooden table and
stool in the main room and two wardrobes in the bedroom, 80 There was little privacy,
especially for study or when someone was ill. 81 J. asked, 'How can a man be expected
to study in an ill-ventilated, ill-lighted, ill-heated bothy or all three?' 82

In order that gardeners' work time should not be cut short through undertaking domestic
duties, many estates paid a woman to come in to care for the single men living in
bothies. She cooked breakfast and a midday meal, and was responsible for basic
cleaning and laundry of bed and household linen. Laundry was a perk of many servants'
wages. 83 Mrs Marley (1875), Mrs Coles (1878), Mrs Crocker (1878) and Mrs Couch
(1901), wives of gardeners, were variously employed for cleaning at Streatham Hall,
being paid Is 3d per week from the garden account, and Mrs Roberts was paid 5s a
week in 1901, but it is not known whether they were actually cleaning for bothy

gardeners or not.

One of the most frequent complaints was about the food. Not the fact that bothy
gardeners often had to provide their own provisions, but about the women who cooked
for the men:

It is easy to buy good food for ready money, but not so easy to get it decently
cooked by the bothy domestic, generally some poor old body that has served her
time sweeping up leaves and pulling weeds in the garden, and has got too old for
the job and is sent into the bothy to clean up in a sort of way and to spoil the
food. When they are supplied by such food-spoilers, is it to be wondered at that
young gardeners wear a worried and hungry appearance? 85

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

116

It was not surprising there were complaints: Ann Tanton was 77 when she was 'cooking
in kitchen garden'. 86 The system of using an older woman as bothy cook seems to be

universal and was apparent in bothies in France as well as all over Britain.

knows

However, not all men had a woman to come in and cook for them. C.J.H. wrote from
Cheshire that his bothy cook was 'a boy who knows as much about cooking as cooking

about him. He is allowed one hour to prepare dinner'. 88 J.M.B. thought it was
'up to the men to make the bothy comfortable.... But that the men could take turns
being allowed time off to cook for the rest'. 89 However, another gardener argued against
this view saying 'Men don't want to spend their time looking after the bothy, cleaning
up after themselves, as their days are short enough already'. 90 A fear also expressed was
that when a bothy was an example of good accommodation that there might be an
expectation of unpaid overtime from the owner or head gardener: 'he [the bothy
inhabitant] does not complain knowing his bothy life is comfortable'. 91

The correspondents also complained about the rules of living in the bothy and of having

their living quarters inspected and fines imposed if not sufficiently tidy. 92 Bothy rules
included having to be in by a certain time of night usually 10 o'clock. No friends or
women were allowed to visit. Bothy men were required to refrain from making a noise

and were not allowed to sing.

Arthur Hooper wrote about the rules of bothy living imposed by those who shared

accommodation, or by a foreman or head gardener. These encompassed social living
and included the need to share everything from the cost of food to facilities. Dividing up
the bothy duties was part of the bothy law. Gardeners were responsible for cooking and
cleaning up after their evening meal (in their own time). Other duties included fetching
in coal and wood, lighting fires and keeping them burning, cleaning and refuelling oil
lamps. Sometimes these duties would be shared between the men, or they took it in
turns to undertake 'bothy duties' on a rota basis 94

Despite the fact that some correspondents to The Garden may have exaggerated poor
bothy conditions, it seems that the editors took the letters seriously enough to say:

...we fear that the discomforts prevailing in many bothies are fairly
represented.. .such conditions cannot fit a young fellow for his work and must be
a bad influence on forming his character and habits 95

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

117

As they were loud in their complaints, gardeners were equally clear in what they would
like in an ideal bothy. These included:

. . . a suitable housekeeper ... a capable middle-aged married woman from some
neighbouring cottage, well acquainted with the needs of working men who could
come in daily to attend to the necessary details of cleaning and cooking. 96

A bathroom was the most popular demand as J.M.B. commented, 'legally and morally a
gardener has just as much right to have his house made comfortable and sanitary as any
other worker'. 97 Somewhere to read and study, with books to assist their learning, was
also in demand:

...a good library is essential. True, we have a good and cheap weekly
horticultural press, but the gardener of ambition takes higher flights, and he must
become acquainted with the theory and practice as described by the ablest

horticultural authors of the day!

One correspondent requested 'a teacher one evening a week to give lessons in botany,

drawing, chemistry, land surveying' and similar. 99 As has been seen in Chapter Two,
this was a provision in some gardens, but obviously, not available to all. Requests were
also made for leisure facilities. These included provision of a cricket pitch. A frequent
demand was for a meeting room where lectures could be held and where the men could
meet with friends or gardeners from other bothies in the area.

100

Bothy men received an allowance for fuel and vegetables as part of their wages. They
supplemented their food with a bartering system with estate staff, or by poaching after
dark to supplement their meals with rabbits, pheasants and duck. The gamekeepers
turned a blind eye in return for fruit and vegetables. This system worked with the
dairyman, where eggs and cream were swapped for garden produce, and with the
kitchen staff where flowers and hothouse fruit were exchanged for apple pies, ham and
bottled fruit. Wild mushrooms were also collected to supplement bothy meals. 101

Census returns show that at Bicton, single gardeners were housed in lodges with

between three and six men sharing accommodation. Castle Hill had a bothy house in the
gardens which housed five gardeners in 1851 and six trainees aged between 17 and 27
in 1891. There were also bothies at gardens of any size and importance such as at
Bystock Court, Haldon House, Oxton, Powderham Castle, Eggesford, Knightshayes
Court and Sidbury Manor. At Maristow the earden bothv. which backed onto the

glasshouses

lne youngest

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

118

fCnightshayes in 1891 was Frederick Sowden aged 15. He shared accommodation with
Peter Barnes, 27, John Green, 22 and Ernest Tucker 20. Frederick came from
Witheridge which was only nine or ten miles from Knightshayes, but other young
gardeners had travelled much further. Sydney Day, Thomas Hudson and Henry
Faulkner all aged 1 9, came from Oxford, Ireland and Surrey to work at Bystock, Bicton
and Oxton. 103 Homesickness must have been a problem for those youngsters who lived
far away from home, although the companionship of their peers may have helped
alleviate this.

Figure 3:6. Plan of the Young Gardeners' House at Wimbledon Park

Source: The Garden 13.01.1872, 175

With good reason bothies came to have a mixed reputation among gardeners. Some men
liked the independence and companionship of living in a bothy and when they
advertised for a position would state 'bothy preferred' or "bothy not objected to'. 104
However, while bothies provided much needed accommodation, many were very
primitive places indeed and must have influenced a gardener's decision to stay in one
household or to move on. There were some good bothies such as the one at Wimbledon

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

119

Park illustrated in Figure 3:6. David Taylor Fish, who acknowledged how poor
accommodation could affect a gardener's attitude to work, commented, 'place young
men in such a house as here set forth and the chances are that their conduct will be, or
will become worthy of it*.

The bothy system reflected the attitude of owners to their gardeners where they were
little more than economic units. Staff indoors frequently wore livery or uniform which
identified them with the household. Gardeners however, were expected to remain in the
background and complete their work unobtrusively. The head gardener was the only
member of staff to be visible to family and visitors. Money was spent firstly on plants
and their needs such as accommodation in glasshouses. The needs of young gardeners
was a secondary consideration.

If there was no bothy on the estate then single gardeners could be billeted with the head

gardener and his wife, or lodged with other estate workers. Most married gardeners and
labourers lived in nearby cottages on or near the estate.

Remuneration of Gardeners

Gardeners* wages were notoriously poor and Loudon campaigned for improvement

through his Encyclopaedia, journals and through letters, such as his complaint to The
Times in 1839 that j ourneymen gardeners only received from 9s Od to 12s Od a week. 105
He had previously noted that men who worked in London nurseries could receive from
2s Od to 2s 6d per day (12s to 15s a week). 106 The campaign for better pay was taken up
by others such as I. P. Burnard who was incensed that a journeyman gardener who was
much better educated than most labourers in the building trade, could only command
half their wages. He maintained a carpenter or bricklayer could earn from 5s a day.

107

Throughout the nineteenth century Devon gardeners were paid between Is and 3s per

day. The lowest wages were at Portledge in North Devon in 1 802, and the highest (from
1872), at Streatham Hall in Exeter. 108 Wage details have been found from at least one
source, for the whole of the nineteenth century. Estate records provided the most
information, some covering a number of years. For example, the Escot Account of
Garden Labour ran from 1858 to 1874; Endsleigh garden wages books detailed pay of
garden staff from 1818 to 1843, and from 1897 to 1919. 109 Maristow records run from

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

120

1800 to 1872. 110 Other useful archives include those of Widdicombe and Kitley which

and 1890s. 111

situations sometimes

included wage details. In one example, in 1880, a 'useful man' sought a situation with a
wage of 9s to 12s per week. 112 Another advertisement for a young gardener, with more
than four years experience, who sought a new position, requested 'wages about 13s with

bothy etc'. 113

Research based on these accounts demonstrate that men's wages did not alter
substantially from the early 1800s until the middle of the 1860s. At the beginning of the
century men's wages were unstable but were usually from Is 6d to Is 8d per day. There
was then a long period of relative stability where they remained at 1 s 8d, apart from a
dip to Is 6d during 1816 and 1817. From 1865 men at Maristow were paid Is 1 Id a day
(lis 6d a week) during the winter months and 2s daily (12s weekly) in summer.
Previously they had been paid Is 8d per day (10s per week), with increases when labour
was scarce (or when prices were high) for example, before the end of the Napoleonic
Wars. At the end of the war there was a surplus of labour on the market, coupled with
an influx into the country of men from Ireland, which resulted in wages being reduced
to Is 4d per day (8s a week). Loudon had commented in 1828 that 'the supply of labour,
of all descriptions, far exceeds the demand. Every nursery is stocked with gardeners in
want of situations...' 114 He used this dire situation to warn men who were 'not reading

gardeners' that they could never expect to rise much higher than common country
labourers. 115

One reason why the garden staff at Streatham Hall were paid better wages than those of
their counterparts in the country was because they did not live in subsidised cottages,
and were therefore responsible for paying their own rent to landlords in the city. The
estimated rent for a labourer's cottage was 3s a week the equivalent of 6d per working
day. 116 Most of the men who worked in this garden lived in the same parish, that of St
David's in Exeter. This also meant there was competition for work from the railway.
Married garden labourers, who earned between 13s 6d and 14s 6d per week at Castle
Hill, paid an annual rent for their cottages of between £2. 12s and £3.1 8s, the equivalent
to 1 s and 1 s 6d per week. This was one third or one half of rents in urban areas.

Figure 3 :7 shows the average wages of garden staff in Devon paid during the nineteenth
century. In 1807 labourers at Saltram were paid between 7s and 9s a week. 118 From

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners' 121

about 1830 until the 1860s most gardeners in the county were paid 10s a week, this was
the same as an agricultural labourer. The weekly rate gradually increased from 10s to

1 Is 6d then up to 15s a week in the 1880s. By this date journeymen earned about Is 6d

more per week than 'ordinary agricultural labourers', 119 More people had moved into
urban areas searching for work, reducing the number available to work on the land.
Wages had to rise to combat competition for labour from the towns. The urban
expansion of Exeter and Plymouth provided plenty of work for those in the building
tmHp who. as noted above, were better Daid than gardeners. Even estate masons and

carpenters received between 3 s and 4s 6d more per week than gardeners.

120

Figure 3:7. Average daily wages of garden staff paid per decade in Devon during
the nineteenth century

Date Men Foremen Boys Women

1801-1810 ls7d

TAd

1811-1820 Is lid Is IVAd 9 l Ad TAd

1821-1830 ls6d Is IVAd lid TAd

1831-1840 Is 7/ 2 d Is 9d 8V4d 8d

1841-1850 Is 7 l / 2 d 2s VAd lOd SV&d

1851-1860 Is 8d Is lOVid 8d 9d

1861-1870 Is IVAd Is HVSd 7 l Ad 7 3 / 4 d

1871-1880 2s 5 l Ad 2s 3 / 4 d 10V4d 8d

1881-1890 2s 6 3 / 4 d 2s 8!6d IVAd 6d

1891-1900 2s5 3 / 4 d 3s Od Is

Source: Wages database based on estate account books (see Bibliography).

A comparison of men's weekly wage across some of the more important gardens in the
county show there was little difference between the estates, nor with examples from
Somerset and Cornwall. Although not representative of the whole county it can be seen
that wages at Nynehead were similar to those in Devon, whereas those at Pentillie were
slightly above (see Figure 3:8). However, although staff at Enville Hall in Staffordshire
(not included in the chart) were paid 2s a day from 1839, twenty years earlier than in
Devon, the majority were only paid 2s 6d a day or 15s a week in 1900. 121 This suggests
there was more competition for labour from the factories in Staffordshire in the 1830s,

which had abated by the end of the century.

It was not until after the First World War that wages increased appreciably at Endsleigh.
This was due in part to the shortage of labour caused by the loss of so many men during
the war, and the unwillingness of some men to return to gardening. Those remaining

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

122

had to work much harder to complete the tasks previously undertaken by a much larger
staff. From the 1890s the garden staff increased from eleven to a peak of 25 in 1910. At
the beginning of 1914 there were 24 gardeners, most of whom were earning 2s lOd a
day. The men left the garden gradually throughout the war, until by the end of 1918
there were only seven men left earning 4s 8d a day. These included Samuel Friese who,

'resumed his work being discharged from [the] army' in July 1916. By the end of March

1919 numbers had increased to ten men who earned 5 s 2d a day.

Figure 3:8 Comparison of men's wages in shillings per week

Date Ends Escot Kitley Maristow Powd Saltram Streat Nyne Pent

Som. Con.

1801

9s 8s

1806 10s

1811 12s

1816 10s 10s

1821 10s 9s 9s

1826 10s 9s

1831 10s 9s 10s 9s

1836 10s
1841 10s

10s
10s
10s

1846

1851 10s 10s

1856 9s 10s

1861 Ils6d lis

1866 lls6d lis

12s
12s

1871 12s 12s lis 18s 15s

1876 12s 14s lis 18s 13s 15s

1881 lis 18s 13s 15s

18s

15s

1886

1891 15s

1896 15s 15s

Key: Ends: Endsleigh; Powd: Powderham; Streat: Streatham Hall; Nyne, Som.: Nynehead, Somerset;
Pent Con.: Pentillie, Cornwall.

Source: Wages database based on estate accounts.

Journeymen who lived in a bothy frequently received some form of additional perks
which included coal, oil, fruit and vegetables. 123 Gardeners who lived as servants 'in the
house' were given bed, board and food as part of their wages. Garden boys at Endsleigh
and Maristow earned 2s 6d (12Kp) to 3s (15p) a week, little more than pocket money.
Apprentices earned as little as one shilling a day. Servants at Castle Hill received beer
and board wages on top of their annual salary. 124 However, gardeners who lived in their
own houses or bothies where they were self-sufficient had no need for board wages
which would have been paid when the family was away from home.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

123

A single man living in a rent-free bothy would have had to use a proportion of his wage
to pay for his share of food, but could still end up richer than a labourer who had to pay
for a cottage and support a family. Garden labourers earned the same as any other day
labourer, between 1 s 6d a day up to 2s 6d by the end of the century. No allowances
were made for specific gardening skills; they were considered to be similar to
husbandry skills.

John Cameron, a gardener of Grove Lane, Camberwell, considered that poor wages and
working conditions were the fault of 'the young men themselves':

. . . young gardeners from the country, who, whenever trifling difficulties
their way, throw up their situations with the view of bettering the
through the medium of advertisements in the public prints or by s
favours from nurserymen. 126

He suggested that gardeners should engage themselves for a year initially, then for
several years further to enable them to * look around them with pleasure at the fruits of
their industry, perseverance, and talent' . It would be at that point, he maintained, that
they could then think to ask for an increase in wages. 127

There was very little change in the daily wage for women across Devon until 1889
when Is a day was recorded for Kitley. Previous to this the normal daily rate had
been 8d. Although women in the garden at Powderham were paid lOd a day from 1847,

1 00

it was still 8d at Kitley in 1854 and at Escot until 1871/ In common with men, women
in north Devon were paid less than their counterparts in other areas of the county
receiving 6d per day at Portledge in 1846 and the same at Stevenstone in 1863. It has
been suggested that women were paid less than men and boys because they started their

day's work later than men and finished earlier, since they had a family to care for. 131 To
date, no evidence has been found to either support or refute this. Market women were
paid 1 s a day because they had to leave for the market early in the morning. They were

also responsible for handling money which ultimately was paid to the estate to be offset
against the garden account.

132

In times of hardship women's wages might also be reduced by a penny or two, this
happened at Buckland Abbey in 1802 and 1803, at Maristow from 1818 to 1825 and at
Saltram women's wages only, were reduced by 2d per day to 6d in 1822. 133 Somerset

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

124

and

than twenty

before those at Kitley, and at Enville Hall, women were paid 8d a day from 1830 to
1842, but Mrs Barker was paid Is 3d in 1900. 135 Where women worked on the farm as
well as in the garden they were paid according to the task undertaken. For example at
Horswell, weeding, apple picking and planting potatoes were paid at 7d per day, but
more strenuous jobs such as hay-making and lifting potatoes were paid at 8d and Is per
day respectively. 136 Although women's wages did increase in the latter part of the
century the difference between women's income and men's became greater.

Depending on their age and position in the garden boys were paid the same or more
(usually Id or 2d a day) than women. The wage of apprentices would gradually rise in

line with their age, experience and length of service. For example Henry Dunn, an
under-gardener at Escot, was paid Is 4d in 1867 when he was aged 16. His wages rose
in 2d increments until he was earning Is lOd by 1871 when he left. Richard Littlejohn
of Endsleigh earned as little as one shilling a day (6s a week), although at Streatham
Hall apprentices were paid between Is 8d and 2s a day. Littlejohn was accommodated
in Endsleigh house so received full board and lodgings in addition to his wage.

138

Foremen were paid more than the men with whom they worked. Sometimes the
difference was quite marked as with Charles Langworthy at Maristow who earned 8d
per day more than his men. 139 More usually there was just a penny or two difference.
The experience gained from the position was important as being a foreman could lead to
becoming a head gardener, even if it was only in a small establishment. Foremen were a
step above ordinary journeymen; tuppence a day extra amounted to a shilling a week,
which meant he could rent a house, get married and start a family if he wished.

Arthur Hooper complained that as a working gardener he had not received overtime pay
for work outside his normal hours. 140 However, in Devon, it appears that some overtime
was paid, either for a special task such as filling the ice house or for destroying wasps
nests. A one off payment, which often included cider or beer, was made for heavy work
such as taking in the orange trees at Saltram, or particularly messy jobs such as pond-
cleaning or chimney sweeping. 141 At other times it was the equivalent of an hourly or
daily rate. Saltram gardeners in June 1822 and Kitley men in June 1854 were paid 2d an
hour overtime. Pro rata this was a better deal for the Saltram men because their dailv

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners 1 1 25

wage was Is 8d whereas at Kitley it was Is 10d. 142 Overtime was paid at Escot for

1 A\

watering and cutting grass in the summer. Prior to an exhibition in Exeter in 1 863, the
men were required to work additional hours in preparation, and for this they were paid
4V4d extra for 3d overtime, in other words, they were paid time and a half. Edward
Bartlett was also paid Is a week extra for acting as a foreman for two weeks. 144 Albert
Ballhatchet, a foreman at Streatham Hall, was regularly paid 2s for working Sundays.
This was one shilling less than he received for a weekday, but may have been because

he worked a shorter day on the Sunday.

145

All the garden staff at Streatham Hall were given an annual Christmas box of five

and occasional presents throughout

time. Those

received a new years gift from Sir John Kennaway of nine shillings each on January 8

th *one t 1 ith 1 onr 147

I873,ten shillings each on January 26 m 1875 and January ll 1876.

On some of the more prestigious estates in the county sick pay was given to some
gardeners, but was not common. At Escot in April 1 863, John Temple was paid his full
wage although he was off sick. 148 It is hard to determine why William Whiting at
Endsleigh and Samuel Solomon at Escot received full pay, while ill, while others were
only paid a third of their normal wage. At Bicton, Eli Hart, Albert Troake, William

Smith, Thomas Gooding, Mark Hitchcock and George West received sick pay at
varying times through the year. 149 The amounts paid were from 6s 6d to £1.0s.4d. Sick
pay was linked to wages, but it is also probable that it was linked to length of service.

Although nationally, there had been a decrease in working hours, the gardeners at Kew
in 1891 only received a wage of 18s Od a week for 66 hours work, which included
Sunday working. One reason given for paying a lower wage was that the men could
benefit from sick pay and £1 superannuation a year. Sick pay however, was not paid
until three years had been served and then only amounted to fifty per cent of wages. A
gardener had to have served for ten years before he received three quarters of his pay
and fifteen years before he was entitled to superannuation.

150

and

many records of ordinary working gardeners receiving a pension. Where it was paid,
like sick pay it was related to the length of service. Betty Judson, the only woman found

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

126

to date, to receive a pension from a garden account and Robert Cundy at Maristow
received only 4s a month. It is not certain that Betty's money was paid to her in her own
right or as a result of husband's work as was the gratuity of 10s a month paid to Jane
Lang at Sydenham in 1893. Jane was the widow of a gamekeeper. 151 William Roberts
Baskerville at Streatham Hall was paid a pension of 8s a week in 1878 (he had received
18s when working) and William Knight (aged about 71) at Endsleigh received 12s a
week in 1897. 152 William Olver (aged about 75), also at Endsleigh only received Is 8d,
a week. Both had worked in the gardens for many years, Knight since at least 1851 and
Olver since the 1860s. The pension not only reflected their long service, but also their
position in the gardening hierarchy as Knight was listed in the census as a gardener
whereas Olver was only a garden labourer. 153 Many gardeners were allowed to stay in
estate cottages and could be called upon to help out in times of need. Salaried gardeners
like Thomas Dowell at Powderham and Richard Willis at Mamhead were able to
purchase an annuity which guaranteed them an income upon retirement. 154

Working Conditions

Gardeners, both educated and unskilled, worked long hours. This was in common with
other agricultural workers. Charles Vancouver in 1808 suggested that labourers in
Devon worked from seven in the morning until noon, then from one pm to either five

o'clock or six o'clock depending on the season, a total of between fifty-four and sixty
hours a week. 155 It would appear that many gardeners worked longer hours than this. In
1843 James Barnes at Bicton stated that when he had joined the garden, his labourer's
hours were from six am until five pm with half an hour for breakfast and an hour for

lunch, a total of nine and a half hours. A normal working day for a gardener in Devon
would have been ten and a half hours, but at Bicton an hour was allowed for the men to

return home to work their own gardens.

156

In 1876 Thomas Trook, aged 73 made a complaint about the food he received at the
workhouse in Exeter. He said he had to work in the garden, helping the gardener, from
7.30 in the morning until six o'clock at night with an hour and a quarter off from noon
until 1.15. He was upset that whereas the gardener had a meal of bread, meat and cider,
he only had workhouse fare which he felt was insufficient for the hours of work he was
undertaking. 157 Whether this complaint was justified or not, it does give an insight into
the hours worked and the food that some gardeners received as part of their wages.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

127

One of the complaints of young gardeners was that due to the long hours worked they
had neither the time, nor the energy for any form of additional education. One gardener
moaned, 'the long working hours during the spring and summer months allow the
gardener to have practically no leisure'. 158 Complaints were also linked with pay. 'I
consider journeymen gardeners are about the hardest worked and poorest paid young
men in the country, considering that most of them have to work almost every day in the
year and in several that I could name from 6 am to 6 pm\ 159 In 1872 The Gardener's
Magazine stated:

The usual hours for working in gardens are from six a.m., to six p.m. in the
summer, and from daylight to dark during the winter months, with half an hour
for breakfast and an hour for dinner. In many gardens forty minutes are allowed
for breakfast during the summer season. Head gardeners are also usually allowed
time for tea in the afternoon during the long days. In some gardens the men leave
an hour or so earlier on Saturdays than on other days.

Already, by this date those who worked in the building trade had negotiated a half-day

on Saturday. 160 Meal breaks varied from garden to garden and season to season. Arthur
Hooper mentions that in summer he had to 'work an extra half an hour each day for
twelve weeks to make up for the time lost during the past winter, when it had been too
dark for work at half-past four'.

161

Gardeners worked a six day week, 52 weeks of the year. Days off included most
Sundays, unless they were on duty, Christmas day, and Good Friday or a Fast Day. At
Endsleigh all the gardeners had a day off, paid, for Jubilee day in June 1897. By the end
of the century some gardeners, in line with other professions, had their hours reduced to
a five and a half day week. The Times reported that arrangements had to be made for
earlier payment of wages to gardeners in Hampton Court gardens on Saturdays as they

now finished work at 1.30 on Saturday.

162

Rules and Regulations

It was common for the working gardener, as with many other servants to be governed
by a series of rules and regulations which many regarded as a nuisance and an
imposition. From the perspective of the head gardener, however, these were seen as a
motivator and a set of standards to work to. Hung in the tool-house at Chatsworth, there
was a painted board 'Rules to be observed by all persons working on these Premises,
Master and Men '. These listed the fines 'to be paid to the gardener, on or before the
Saturday night' following the misdemeanour (see Figure 3: 9). 163 Whether James Barnes

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners' 128

was aware of these rales which were probably in place from the 1830s is not known, but
following his appointment at Bicton he imposed two sets of similar rules, one for the
plant department, one for the kitchen garden department (see Figures 3:10 and 3:1 1)- He
extended the number of rules to 24 for the plant department and 25 for the kitchen
garden. These two sets of rules were very similar and changed the appearance of the
gardeners as well as their behaviour. 164

Figure 3:9. Rules hung in tool room at Chatsworth

•Auto toUokmrmihf «Q fmam workmf on tfcete Prtmms, Mast*

cniMau

m l For etery tool or implement of any description not returned to the

wail place

iraed to a wrong place not appointed

irned or bong np in a dirty or nnfit state for work, the forfeit is U.
IL For otoij heap of sweepings or raklngs left at night uncleared,

forfeitU
"III.

person making use of bad language to any perm

these premises shall forfeit, lor each and iwy eoeh offence, 84.

« IV, Every person found drank on these premises shall forfeit one
shilling ; and, if he be In regular employment on the premises, he shall
be suspended from hie employment one day for erery hour he loses
rough drunksnnsss.
M V. Every person who shall knowingly conceal or screen any per-
son oflboding, shall be fined double the amount of the fine for the ofisooe
he so coocetls, in addition to the fine of the ofiending party.
u Yh All forfeits to be paid to the gardener, on or before the Saturday

night following. If any person working regularly on the premises fall to

eoofor

I'l'i

the above rules sad regulations, the gardener shall

liberty to stop hie fines from hie wages. Further, should any foreman
or Journeyman fail to comply with the above rules and regulations (with
a knowledge of tbsmj the gardener shall be at liberty to seise and sell
his tools or part of them, to pej

the ofisDce was committed.

such fines, in one month from the time

YIL All fines U
i have been fined. 1

expended in a supper, yearly, to all the parties

Source: Andrew Jackson Downing, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape
Gardening Adapted to North America ( 1 844), Fourth edn (New York, 1 859), 500.

Bicton's Rule number 1 and 2 of the rules for the Plant Department covered the
gardeners' personal appearance, rule 3 their hygiene. Cleanliness and tidiness were
important as all areas of the gardens were open to inspection by the gentry and their
visitors. Rubbish left lying about could also harbour pests and diseases. There had to be
no unsightly areas for visitors to view. Health and safety were paramount instilling
confidence and efficiency. Care of expensive tools and equipment was also important.
Behaviour was monitored, no smoking or drinking were allowed. The largest fines were

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

129

for rule 10 'leaving anything dangerous in or about the stoke-holes or furnaces' and 25,
for 'damaging or in any way mutilating or defacing the above rules' (see Figure
3: 10). 165 The latter would have been more than mere vandalism, it would have shown
disrespect to the head gardener.

Figure 3.10. Rules and Regulations of Bicton Plant Department

Rules and Regulations of the
Plant Department in Bicton Gardens -1842

THE FOLLOWING RULES TO BE STRICTLY ATTENDED TO AND FINES TO BE PAID
EACH PAY DAY THE AMOUNT SO PAID TO BE DIVIDED EQUALLY AMONGST THE MEN
AT THE END OF YEAR OR PUT TO SOME USEFUL PURPOSE AS SHALL BE AGREED 0?

1 Ccmna to work on a Monday mcmm) MfH a dirty siivt 3

2 Coming to k i a>w momina without $iioe& Seinq faced or tied 3
Any person employed in tnesc departments found aathenna fruit with

4 Going into any hothouse ijreenhcuse Sc. c walking on am* a~arei wait
with di r ty shoe*

5 Taking a wl\eefbarrow> with a Arty k>/wv/ on the waiks or n ...\u otiu

WiUf making dirt and not immediately cleaning the sa>ne up 3

6 l/aoinq a>\y (hot or gau t _

7 IfaWHif d>\y Joor o- if ate untcikcd. after opening Hw same, am* not
returning the keif to :ts voce- pLue

8 Lt

keeping the ashes cleaned outjrom

9
10

undo* the not srftmg the cinders

[eavnig ap\y fire at niaht not in p r ope- m c* order 3

/}\7iv/i</ ai\y thnuf Jriwjerons in or afout the stoke hole* o- furnaces 12

Ceai'niij rt icb unfinished in tin unworkmanlike wanner 3

12 Makma aixy wa<te coals topping them about, or not keeping them
swept clean up toiietner

13 Ceavma open tlie cover of ami boiler or cistern

14 Smoking a pipe i)f tcl\icccjn the fours of work

15
16

3
6
4

out of itS

Meqfectmq to grease a wheetta^cw when requisite
leaving ami tcof wfiedharrow steps faddet wato-pot &\

proper place or putting it au\iif dirtij 3

Craving rubbish in any hctnouse 0r f*emw>e o- m ami way makma tV^y

and not immediately cleaning the siime up 3

18 Lea\ tn<j heaps «Y

pleasure if rounds borders WiB v\i tor each heap

lass tool Ac 3

— — — — p- w

19 Carett>>ttf twkmg any p4a*tt pan g

20 Freakiiui ami/ /'Uv )vf ioif/t plants in if w>iJ not wmMafrtt/ fvfrr-u; r<u

St;**!*" rfr'irs properly .

21 Neq(e\tmq tiSea jet after havinq Seen ma Mi* it if r»f ><\v»u» n-iw

22 N<aUdn\j ts attend to t*tte> Jnmluns .A-

23 ^hi/ »u»i £W «if »i>s H«ori »if>n.ujf^ sixaU forfeit His A» f > hv V . >

6
3
3

rrJ /u>f

24 Snearmi ir makmg use if l\k* fanqmhfe h-r fivry -«T"-'' ft ' «^

e\pres<ic<\ _ . ^ „ ,

J BARNES: HEAD GARDENER
BICTON GARDENS SEPT 26 1842

Source: Rules first printed in GM (1842) Photograph: C. Greener.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

130

Figure 3:11 Rules and Regulations of Bicton Kitchen Garden

AND REGULATIONS OF BICTON KITCHEN-GARDEN

The following Rules to be strictly attended to, and the Fines to be paid ea

Rule

places or any quarter of the garden

e scraper
scrapers

purpose

dirty

belonging to the garden

12.

dirty

15.

gravel walk,

other tools

language

22. Any man found intoxicated in working-hours to forfeit his day's wages, and be

otherwise

23.

by arbitration

24. Damaging or in any way d efacing the above Rules
Source: GA/18, (1842), 562-563.

1 . Coming to work on a Monday morning with a dirty shirt 3

2. Coming to work any morning without shoes being either laced or tied 3

3. Any person employed in these gardens found gathering fruit with unwashed 4

hands

4. Walking from any border, bed, or quarter of the garden on to the walk without

6. Neglecting to raise up a scraper, too low for proper use, when finishing a job 3
near the same

7. Treading on the box-edgings, or wheeling over them, without first placing over 3

9. Neglecting to grease a wheelbarrow-wheel when requisite 3

10. Neglecting to do any job after having been once told of it 3

the second time 6

1 1 . Neglecting to put in its proper place any tool, ladder, watering-pot or anything 3

13. Leaving any box-edging covered with earth or rubbish when finishing a job near 3
the same

14. Leaving any job, in any part of the garden, in an unworkmanlike manner 3

1 6. Placing an iron rake against a wall or fence, or laying the same on a walk teeth 3
uppermost

17. Neglecting to shut any door or gate when required, or to fasten the same 3

18. Carelessly breaking any tool, glass or flower-pot 3

19. Leaving heaps of weeds, leaves, or any other kind or rubbish, about the garden 3
when finishing a job

20. Smoking a pipe of tobacco in working hours

2 1 . Swearing or making use of bac

Barnes had what he considered good reason to create rules for the gardeners to conform
to. When he first went to Bicton he complained that the men arrived late in the morning,
and 'when they did arrive, it was with the knees of their small-clothes not buttoned or

tied, their shoes not laced'. He said 'the men were never satisfied except they were
guzzling drink and smoking; not a tool was in its place, being thrown down where a job
was finished and all confusion and disorder in every corner, coals lying about in every

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners* 1 3 1

place through which they had been wheeled, flower pots thrown together, broken and
unbroken, clean and unclean'. 167

rules

industry, cleanliness, happiness and

contentment amongst my men is truly astonishing.' It seems his men had lived up to his
high expectations as:

They are always in time of a morning, as clean as I can expect of a labourer
merry whistling, singing, going to work as if they were taking an interest ir
doing good and always knowing where to put their hand on any tool that i:
wanted, but I still live in hopes of seeing further improvement here in ever}

way'. 168

Number VII of the Chatsworth rules stated 'All fines to be expended in a supper, yearly,

to all the parties who have been fined'. 169 Bicton's rules stated 'The amount so paid to
be divided equally amongst the men at the end of the year, or put to some useful
purpose, as shall be agreed upon' 170

Tools

Having served an apprenticeship, a man became a journeyman whereupon he would
have to purchase his own tools, unless provided for in the garden where he worked. The
minimum required would have been:

...a light handy spade, a shovel, rake with iron teeth, hoe, three-pronged fork,
dibber, or setting-stick, line and reel, usually called a skillet, wheelbarrow,
baskets, trowel, a pair of shears, scythe, hay-rake, hook, ladder, besom, or
broom, beater, garden-roller, turfmg-iron, hatchet, and hammer'. 171

These would have cost the equivalent of six months' work, and it seems unlikely that he
would have carried all the tools from one workplace to another.

Tools were needed for different activities, therefore they were divided into tools for
cultivation, which encompassed spades, forks, hoes, rakes and hand tools such as
trowels. Pruning equipment included knives, saws, secateurs and loppers. Lawns needed
to be mown, edged and swept. A grindstone was considered to be:

...almost indispensable in a garden... in many cases, only half the amount of
work can be performed with a blunt tool that can be done more perfectly with a
sharp one in the same time and with less exertion. 172

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

132

There were watering cans of all shapes and sizes, various watering engines, which could
be pulled along paths and water pumped in a spray over the garden (see Figure 3:12 ).
Hosepipes, made of gutta percha, were developed by Henry Bewley from 1845.
Although heavy and needing wheeled hose-holders they reduced the time needed for

1 73 *

watering. Soon sprinkler attachments and water jets were added. The other important
aspect of cultivation was pest control, and for this purpose there were syringes, dusting
boxes and brushes. In Loudon's Encyclopaedia he has no less than twenty-one pages of
'Implements of Gardening' and covers every item a gardener would possibly find a use
for, from tally sticks to tree transplanters. 174 It is highly unlikely that the majority of
gardeners would use most of this equipment.

Figure 3:12. Green's Garden Engine

Source: Robert Thompson, The Gardener s Assistant: A Practical and Scientific Exposition of
the Art of Gardening in all its Branches New edn William Watson, ed., (London, 1900), 1 87.

The care and maintenance of tools was an important issue:

Men work better when in good health than when in bad, and like manner, with
good clean tools more and better work is accomplished than is possible when
they are either rusty or blunt or rickety. 175

Regular payments were made to the local smith for making and repairing garden tools
and for sharpening blades. 176 John Blatchford, the smith at Milton Abbot, sent an

invoice to Endsleigh in 1829 for work done for the garden to include repair of three
garden spades, three hoes, two pairs of shears, a fork and Maying they toes of an Evil'.
The latter, a three pronged fork, used for moving manure. Rakes were provided with

Chapter Three: 4 Of Operators and Serving Gardeners' 1 3 3

new teeth and a barrow with an iron hoop for the wheel. He supplied a new garden hoe

and

177

Kitley gardener bought new tools worth

£1.2s.9d. The most expensive items were 'water pots', two for 8s 6d and a further pair
for 6s 6d. 178 From the 1870s mass production meant that many of these items were
purchased from local ironmongers and nurserymen. 179 . Throughout the nineteenth
century new tools were invented and traditional ones were made stronger and more
durable, or adapted, with the aim to make the labourer more effective and to cut back on
man hours and consequently garden costs:

It is an admitted principle in political economy that, in proportion as the amount
of produce can be increased by a reduction of labour, so great is the
proportionate increase of wealth to the producer. 180

Head gardeners invented and adapted the equipment they used in their everyday lives,
taking new ideas with them if they moved from garden to garden. George Fleming, at
Trentham designed 'a machine for destroying weeds, moss, lichens, &c, on gravel-
walks and court-yards* which was basically a boiler on wheels filled with salt water.
This reduced the amount of hand-weeding needed, although care had to be taken when
spraying the edges of the path. 181 Salt for weeding gravel drives was still being
recommended in 1870. 182 Barnes at Bicton invented the crane-necked hoe for weeding
and a fan broom for sweeping the walks. The hand hoes came in a variety of sizes to be
used for different purposes. 183 Inventions were written up in horticultural books and
journals. They included a range of items such as canvas protection for wall fruit trees,
methods of pest control, the benefits of mulching and double glazing for greenhouses. 184

Wheelbarrows, spades and forks became lighter in weight which meant that a man had
more energy to dig a larger area in one day. An unintentional side effect was to make
physical work easier for the gardener. David Thompson suggested that, 'besides the
advantage of more work being performed, it is always the case, that with a well-adapted
tool of a superior description, the work is better done'. 185 Improvements in the materials
used ensured knives and shears cut larger stems more cleanly and lasted longer without

sharpening. Secateurs were developed from pruning shears with a spring attachment
and sharp blades. They did not however, replace a gardener's knife which he carried
with him at all times and which became a personal object, sometimes paid for by
himself. 187 Initially, secateurs were seen as items to be used by ladies as recommended
by Jane Loudon, but were eventually adopted by gardeners as a useful addition to their
tool selection.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

134

Galvanised wrought-iron fittings and garden twine made tying fruit trees to walls easier
and eventually replaced nails and 'shreds', strips of leather or cloth, prepared by the
gardener in the winter months. 188 Ladders, gurneys and grape bottles were used for
harvest and storage of produce. Various hampers and baskets were purchased and
repaired and used to transfer produce to the house or the market from the kitchen
garden. People dependent upon the gardening industry included matt makers,
carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, painters, ironmongers, tool makers, basket makers,
carriers and the people who supplied packaging materials.

Nurserymen supplied seeds, shrubs and trees, but trees were expensive and difficult to
move when large, so small saplings were planted which took several years to mature.
Although * Capability* Brown had moved mature trees with a machine nicknamed the
'yanker' it was not until William Barron developed his tree mover that large trees could
be guaranteed to survive a move. Instead of wrenching the trees from the land often
causing damage to the roots, Barron's method involved cutting round the roots and
lifting the tree complete with a huge root-ball. The tree was then transported and placed
on top of the ground and the earth built up around the root ball. This method created
an instant garden and revolutionized planting with mature trees.

New inventions helped make many late nineteenth century gardens less time-consuming

to maintain, an important consideration as the wages of the gardener had begun to
increase in the 1870s rising above two shillings a day (see page 124), For example in
1871 Shirley Hibberd recommended the use of 'a handsome stone moulding, or its

equivalent in some imitative material' to avoid 'the time spent in clip-clip-clipping'

190

grass verges.

Lawnmowers

Scythes, sharpening stones, brooms and rollers were all part of the equipment needed
for grass cutting which was of particular importance in the west country with its mild
climate and high rainfall and where the grass grows continuously throughout most of
the year. One of the most important inventions to affect gardeners was the lawn-mower.
Edwin Beard Budding developed, in 1830, the first mower after watching a rotary cutter
shearing the nap of cloth in the woollen industry. A license to produce lawn-mowers
was sold to Ransomes of Ipswich in 1832. In Scotland similar experiments with
machines were taking place and by 1 842 Alexander Shanks of Arbroath had developed

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners* 135

a five roller horse-drawn mower. Early mowers were very heavy and cumbersome.
They were not suitable for small areas of lawn, nor could they cope with wet grass. Two
men, or one man and a pony, were required to pull and guide the mower, but they had a
significant impact on the time and labour needed to cut large lawns as Mr Curtis,
foreman of the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens pointed out:

With two men, one to draw and another to push, it does as
eight men with scythes and brooms; not only in mowing
grass, and lifting it into a box; performing the whole so pei
a mark of any kind behind. 191

Charles Mcintosh estimated that during ten years of using the largest mowing machine
available, pulled by horse and guided by a man, that there had been a saving of twelve
men during the mowing season'. 192 It was possible to use a scythe on wet grass which

meant that mowing could be done early in the morning before the family were about,
whereas most mechanical mowers could only cope with dry grass, so had to be used
later in the day. This had the effect of shortening the working day, as it was no longer
possible to mow early in the morning and late in the evening. 193 An enthusiastic
American gardener proclaimed of the Shanks' lawn mower that 'between the hours of
eight o'clock in the morning and four o'clock in the afternoon, two men and a boy could
cut the same amount of grass which previously had taken nine days to complete'. 194 It
was not only men's lives that were affected by lawnmowers, their use also took work
away from garden women who had traditionally swept up after the skilled scythe men.

Mowers were treated with distrust by many gardeners until late in the century. It was
not until 1861 when Thomas Green patented the self-sharpening blade that they became
more popular among gardeners, even then they were noisy and cumbersome to use. 195 In
Devon mowing was one of the major jobs that went on throughout a large part of the

year, mostly without lawn-mowers to help and it is not known when the earliest
machine was used in the county. The earliest, found to date, was purchased for
Powderham Castle garden at a cost of £7. 10s in August 1865. 196 In 1869 ironmongers
Wippell & Sons of High Street Exeter, advertised a range of mowers which included
Barnard and Bishops's 'Noiseless' and Samuelson's, Brown's and Green's machines. 197
This suggests there was a market for the new machines.

1 a mowing machine made by the Phoenix Foundry near Stroud cost between
and ten guineas, which was an expensive outlav when the cost of a man was

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

136

between Is 6d and Is 8d per day. 198 If the saving in manpower was accurate, and
assuming the grass was cut once a fortnight through the summer, this could have been

within

" Runaway was purchased

Breese in Plymouth for the Strodes of Newnham Park in 1895 at a cost of £5. 10s, this
price included a fifteen per cent discount; and a mowing machine for the garden at
Blackpool was purchased from J. J. Tolman, at a cost of £4.5s.6d, the following year.
Mowing by scythe, especially on long wet grass, continued to be the chosen method of
grass cutting, being quieter and less obtrusive. By the 1870s the Archimedean lawn-
mower from America became popular with amateur gardeners because it would cut both
wet and dry grass and therefore was useful for villa gardens where 'there is only a small
piece of lawn'. 199 The ten and twelve inch 'Young Ladies' Mower for the croquet lawn'
cost three and four guineas respectively, with an additional cost of 7s 6d for a grass box,

from Williams and Company in London. Machines were 'delivered free at all railway
stations'. No charge was made for the packing cases 'which are most convenient for
storing the Machine during the winter'. 200 The largest machine advertised was the
twenty inch for 'a man and boy' at a cost of eight guineas. Spare parts were also
available from the same company.

201

Although no mention is made of a lawnmower at Escot, a halter and boots were bought
in December 1870, and, throughout the summer of 1876, a boy was paid for donkey

drawing. 202 By the end of the century prices of smaller mowers had tumbled and a nine

inch 'Speedwell or 'Runaway' could be purchased for just £1 or £1.10s respectively.

This meant that even small gardens could have a lawn which became the focus of

leisure activities. A smoothly mown lawn could be used for sports; clock golf, croquet,

lawn tennis and badminton were a few of the games played. Summerhouses were built

to store sports equipment and garden furniture, or to give somewhere to sit to watch a
game or have a picnic.

203

Chemical Aids

Although it is tempting to assume that nineteenth century gardeners were organic
growers in tune with nature, in fact they killed birds, insects, toads, rabbits and anything
they thought was in competition for their crops or which would destroy their plants.
'Vermin' appears to be a term used to cover any pest, two, four or six legged. Guns
were used to shoot rabbits and birds. The rat and mole-catcher were important members

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

137

of the garden staff and paid for each animal caught or poisoned. Mice were maj or
pests. One remedy, from 1841, entitled To Destroy Mice, reads as follows: 'Fry a sheet
of brown paper (the coarser the better) in any grease: this the mice will eat and it will
destroy them. This is safer, cheaper and easier than any trap'; the cost of traps was about
8d each. 205 This remedy must have been tried by some, but how it worked is not known,
or whether any substance other than grease was added to ensure the demise of the mice.
Wasps were enticed into traps with treacle and garden staff were paid up to two
shillings for the removal of each nest. 206 By the time Arthur Hooper was a gardener in
the twentieth century it was recognised that some so-called 'pests' also had a beneficial
role which resulted in some wasp nests being retained each year in order that the wasps

207

helped keep the population of aphids down as well as providing food for birds.

Woodlice were trapped using bait of dried apple under an inverted flower-pot; to
capture ear-wigs, the pots were filled with straw. Slugs were encouraged to feed on
fresh grains from the brew-house then covered in lime. Shirley Hibberd favoured
natural remedies such as boiling water, or a pot of brine to destroy captured woodlice,
slugs and snails. 208 Until other methods were used, caterpillars had been picked off by

hand, usually by a host of women and children or garden boys and this was still a

method resorted to when an infestation was deemed too great to be dealt with by sprays.

Syringes, fumigators and dusting machines were used to treat pests and diseases on
plants utilizing home-made pesticides, some quite effective. Tar, vinegar, soap, sulphur,
tobacco and lime were used at Kitley and Maristow; soap ashes and soot were used as
washes, as powders, singly or mixed together. Tobacco powder was:

cheap, convenient, and cleanly in use. Harmless to vegetation, but most deadly to
aphis and thrips.... dusted on the leaves of the infested plant when they are damp
with dew, and should be washed off twelve hours afterwards'. 210

Nicotine was a favoured poison and tobacco plants were grown, dried, chopped and
mixed with about one third part of tobacco paper. This was used as a wash for fruit
trees, as a powder to rid plants of greenfly and to fumigate greenhouses. 211 The latter

could prove risky to the gardener if he entered the house too early after fumigation.
There was also a suggestion in The Gardener that in order to kill the caterpillar of goat

212 * ♦

moths, chloroform should be used. Spirit of turpentine was used as an insecticide and
Bordeaux mixture, a combination of copper sulphate and slaked lime was used as a
fungicide. New advances saw combinations of chemicals which could be lethal to man

Chapter Three: c Of Operators and Serving Gardeners' 138

as well as insects such as soft soap mixed with mercury, cyanide, hellebore and pure
nicotine. Three pounds of arsenic was purchased 'to kill weeds' and strychnine was
used to kill rats and mice at Maristow. 213 Fowler's Insecticide and Aphis wash could be

purchased from nurseries. 14 By 1893 the danger of cyanide was being recognised and it
was advised that its use should be discontinued. Instead a mixture for destroying wasp
nests was recommended which included powdered sulphur, powdered saltpetre and

215

black gunpowder which sounds equally dangerous.

Some less harmful methods were used. A correspondent in The Gardener recommended
catching ladybirds in March and placing them on calceolarias and cineraria in the
greenhouse as a cure for greenfly. 216 An alternative method was to use an aphis brush
(see Figure 3:13). Made of plastic and steel, this was developed to brush off the aphids

on roses without harming delicate buds.

Figure 3:13. An aphis brush

Source: Robert Thompson, The Gardener 's Assistant: A Practical and Scientific Exposition of

the Art of Gardening in all its Branches New edn William Watson, ed., (London, 1900), 216.

Weeds were mostly destroyed by digging, hoeing and hand pulling, although Barnes at
Bicton argued against this work. He wrote, 'I make it a rule never to have any hand-
weeding done, except in the gravel walks: as I am well convinced there is much
mischief done by incautious and thought-less people weeding amongst crops'. As seen
above he advocated the use of hoes *to keep the surface of the earth, clean, open and
healthy'. 217 Chemicals for weed-killing were adopted because of their speed and
effectiveness. They helped keep a garden neat and tidy and were particularly useful
where there was a shortage of labour. Sulphate of copper, otherwise known as blue
vitriol, became popular for weeding paths. Mixed in proportion of 'lib. to six gallons of

water', great care had to be taken not to allow it to extend beyond the verges of the

walks as is destroyed vegetation of all kinds. The advent of chemicals for weeding
led to a reduction in the need for hand-weeders; as a result women were not required so
frequently in the garden.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

139

Gardeners 9 Tasks

Every month of the year was busy for the gardeners. In May, at Endsleigh, the men
were involved in preparing flower beds, sowing annuals in the borders, planting dahlias
and bedding plants, potting begonias in the greenhouse, mowing grass and hoeing
footpaths. Weeds were cleared, climbing plants tidied and tied neatly to supports. In the
kitchen garden, vegetable were planted; asters too, to provide cut flowers for the house.
Peas and beans were 'sticked' and fruit trees given washes of insecticide. There is a
sense of the garden being prepared for the summer as the tennis court was cleaned and
made ready for use, all the paths were cleaned, weeded and re-sanded where necessary.

Mowing was undertaken almost every day.

219

By June, the watering had begun. The glasshouses were shaded from the sun,
preparations were made for winter vegetables to be planted. Strawberries were gathered

for preserving. By the end of July, seeds were collected and cuttings were taken to
propagate new stock for the following year. At the end of September orange trees were

taken into the glasshouse for protection, bedding plants were lifted to be over-wintered.

Pots were washed and stacked, the boilers prepared for winter. Azaleas and
rhododendrons were lifted, the soil they had been bedded in was replaced and the plants
reinstated. To all their other jobs, leaf collecting for hot-beds was added in October and

November. Storehouses were filled with potatoes and carrots. Garden furniture, hand
glasses and lights from frames were carefully cleaned and stacked away.

220

Surprisingly, one of the busiest months of the year was November. Root crops were
lifted, washed and carefully packed in clamps of earth and straw to be stored for the
winter months. Brocolli were stored whole in cellars. The remains of old crops and
dying plants were removed from the garden in order to trench and manure the ground
for the following year. Celery was earthed up, rhubarb and seakale were transplanted
into forcing houses. Grapes were cut in bunches and stored in grape bottles containing
charcoal and water. On wet days, glasshouses were cleaned and whitewashed and future
cropping plans were drawn up. 221 There was a rhythm to the work which was repeated

at the same time every year and which was dependent on the social calendar of the
owners and when they would be in residence.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

140

Summary

Despite the advent of lawnmowers and new chemical mixes reducing the need for man
power, the number of working gardeners increased throughout the nineteenth century to
satisfy the demand in what had become a labour intensive industry. Men had to be
prepared to undertake a variety of tasks, many not directly related to gardening.

Far more women worked in gardens than are represented by official sources, however
by the end of the century the number of labouring women declined as they were not
needed for weeding nor to collect grass cuttings, some of the more menial jobs
traditionally undertaken by women were given to men and boys. At the same time
middle-class women had begun to compete for work with journeymen.

The position of a jobbing gardener was the most precarious unless he could get regular
work. Not only did he have to provide his own tools, but regular work was at the best
uncertain and expectations of his capabilities was high. Many jobbing gardeners were
little more than casual labourers, others were highly skilled in one particular aspect of
gardening such as pruning or grafting.

Single men who made up a large contingent of trainee gardeners moving from one

garden to another in search of experience and promotion received accommodation,
usually in a bothy, as part of their wages. Much of this was of poor quality, dark, damp
and with few or no facilities. Young men living together were probably less demanding

of good quality housing. It was often as older men looking back that they became more

indignant about poor living conditions where the plants they cared for were better
housed than themselves. Not all bothies were bad, some were clean wholesome places,
but in themselves could exert a form of moral blackmail on young gardeners to regulate
their behaviour and work practices. Another form of motivation, seen as a restriction by
some men, were rules and regulations created by head gardeners, not just for the bothies
in which they lived, but also in their daily lives. However, the discipline they instilled
enabled gardeners to take a pride in their appearance and to identify with their garden.

Many inventions and developments made gardeners' lives easier and saved both time
and physical effort, for example, the ice-making machines of Mr Reece in the 1 870s
removed the necessity of filling the ice-house each winter. 222 New chemicals were used

Chapter Three: *Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

141

in the garden, some of which like arsenic, nicotine and mercury used for insecticides
were poisonous and could be positively injurious to the health of the gardener. The use
of manures also changed with scientific and industrial developments. Bone crushing
mills were set up near ports to take advantage of imported bones, and guano proved to
be one of the most popular of the new manures. Although local material was still used
for convenience, gardeners no longer had the necessity to dredge streams for silt and
gravel or scour local beaches for lime-rich sand; nor with the advent of the water closet
was night soil so frequently used.

Mechanical lawn-mowers had one of the biggest impacts on a gardener's working life,
cutting man, and woman, hours needed to mow and sweep lawns. However, new
inventions did not always lead to a reduction in the numbers of employed male

gardeners. Gardens which incorporated topiary and bedding out systems were very

labour intensive. Jobbing gardeners were needed for the heavier tasks in villa gardens
and the numbers employed in nurseries and market gardens increased as the businesses
competed to supply their growing numbers of knowledgeable customers.

Although by the end of the century, wages had increased, and the workload had become

lighter, there were still complaints about long hours and poor pay. 223 Low wages were
blamed on the lack of any union or body to represent gardeners as a whole, and this in

turn was blamed

224

This

problem, not just a regional one and was partly linked to a surplus number of gardeners,
but also to a traditional pay and employment structure which neither the industry, in the
shape of nurserymen and head gardeners, nor employers saw any reason to change. As
Samuel Badman stated in 1872:

Vexatious mistakes often occur on the part of employers from a misconception
of what a gardener really is. Frequently he is supposed to be simply an educated
labourer, or a very correct-going machine who will do exactly what he is told,
though it may be planting gooseberry-bushes with their heads downward.... But a
gardener is something more than a machine; he is, or should be, a professional
man, and as such claims to be treated in that light. 225

J. C. Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (London, 1822), 1 199.

2 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1336.

3 See for example, Devon Record Office (DRO) 346M/E9 Buckland Abbey and Plymouth and West
Devon Record Office (PWDRO) 874/3/40, 54 Maristow.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners*

142

4 Census (1891) Vol 111, ages, condition as to marriage, occupations, birthplaces and infirmities (PP
1893-4, cvi), 88.

5 Census (1851): population tables, pt II: ages, civil condition, occupations and birth-places of the people
rPP 1854, lxxxviii vol I).

Census (1851): population tables, (PP 1854, lxxxviii vol 1); Census (1861): Population tables, vol II
ages, civil condition, occupations and birthplaces of the people (PP 1863, liii, pt \)\Census (1871):
population tables, vol III: population abstracts: ages, civil condition, occupations and birth-places of
people (PP 1873 lxxi, pt 1); Census (1881) Vol III, ages, condition as to marriage, occupations and birth-
places of the people (PP 1883, lxxx); Census (1891) Vol III (PP 1893-4, cvi); Census (1901) summary
tables, areas, houses and population; also population classified by ages, conditions as to marriage,
occupations, birthplaces, and infirmities (PP 1903, lxxxiv).

7 Census enumerators 9 returns (Census) PRO RG12, Heavitree District 1 & 2, 1891; Kelly's Directory
(1893).

8 These are listed in the Census enumerators ' returns, but without qualifiers such as 'domestic' or 'non-
domestic*.

9 Census PRO RG12-13 Bishops Tawton and Topsham, 1891, 1901; PRO RG14 Barnstaple and
Topsham, 1911 Census Household Original Pages for Frank Langdon of Countess Weir and William
Coleman of Congrams Row, Barnstaple.

10 Solomon Baker, working at Escot in 1851; Census PRO HO 107 Devon, 1851 [CD]; Census PRO RG9
William Cole, a garden labourer at Northam in 1861.

11 These figures are from the database of private gardeners and show the age of the gardener at the first
reference to an individual.

12 DRO 1508M/Devon/Estate/Labour Books VI.

13 Ce/w«$ PRO RG 11 1881 [CD].

14 306 grooms and gardeners, plus 72 coachmen and gardeners have been listed on the database; See also,
Devon Weekly Times (DWT) 22.12.1871, 4a ; Exeter Flying Post (EFP) 19.07. 1876, 4a; The Times
09.09.1884, 12e.

15 Census PRO RG 1 1 1881, PRO RG9 1861, PRO RG13 1891.

16 DRO 3610Z and add/1.

17 DRO Z19/20/36-7; Census PRO RG1 1-13 1881, 1891, 1901.

18 DRO3610Z and add/1.

19 DRO3610Z and add/1-2, 4.

20 Robert Thompson, The Gardener 's Assistant: A Practical and Scientific Exposition of the Art of
Gardening in all its Branches Vol 1 New edn ed. by William Watson (London, 1900)
Hooper, Life in the Gardeners ' Bothy (Suffolk, 2000), 32-33.
21 DR0 961M/M/E34.

22 DRO 3610Z and add/1-2, 4; EFP 21.01.1885, 7c.

23 DRO 96M/add/E34.

24 DRO 3610Zand add 1; DRO 961M/M/E34.

25 DRO 3610Zand addl.

26 DRO 7140 (96M) Bicton Rental and Account 1 842, F147.

27 Malcolm Dunn, "The Relations Between Gardener's and Their Employers', JRHS 1
Mr S. Heaton, 'Gardeners - Past, Present, and Future', JRHS2Q:l (1896), 40-52, 40.

28 Dunn, 'Relations', 87.

29 EFP 6.10.1880, 3e.

30 Torquay and Tor Advertiser 2.01.1846, la-b; 18.08.1846, 4b.

31 Monica Mary Brewis, "The Garden That I Love": Middle Class Identity, gender an
Domestic Garden 1880-1914. Ph.D Thesis University of Brighton, (2004) 95

32 DRO 346M/F230-1, July 1759.

33 DR0 316M/EA/22.

34 Ce/ww.s PRO RG 11 Moretonhampstead and Honiton, 1881; EFP 3.12.1873, 3c.

35 DRO 1292M/Accounts 4-6; EFP 28.1 1.1877, 3f.

36 Archibald McNaughton, 'On the Life of a Jobbing Gardener of Hackney', GM 1 (1
Henry Burgess, The Amateur Gardener's Year-Book (Edinburgh, 1854), 330.

37 Yvonne Cuthbertson, Women Gardeners: A History (Denver, 1998) 32 35 48 75

38 Heaton, 'Gardeners', 49. ' ' '

Eliza Towel and Martha Cornelius of Dawlish both worked with their fathers. Lily
at Hartland and Clovelly Cottage Garden Society see North Devon Journal 7 08 1 89(
40 The Times, 13.05.1901, lOf.

Arthur

41 The "Borough" Pocket Guide to Ivy bridge (Cheltenham

42 Ivybridge 23-4.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

143

43 Pers communication Ann Meredith.

44 The Times 21.07.1898, 12d, 25.07.1899, 9d.

45 Peter King, Women Rule the Plot: The Story of the 100 year Fight to Establish Women 's Place in Farm
and Garden (London, 1999), 16-20.

45 King, Women Rule, 11-20.

47 Edward Higgs, 'Occupational censuses and the agricultural workforce in Victorian England and Wales'
in Economic History Review XL VIII, 4 (1995), 700-716; A Clearer Sense of the Census: The Victorian
censuses and historical research (London, 1996); 'Women's occupations and work in the nineteenth-
century censuses', History Workshop Journal 23 (1987), 59-80.

48 Census (1851): population tables; Census (1881) Volume III, ages.

49 PWDRO 874/2-3; 874/3/11.

50 Census PRO HO 1 07 Exeter St Thomas, Heavitree and South Tawton, 1 84 1 .

51 Census PRO HO107 Devon 1851 [CD].
" Census Devon 1841-1901.

53 Census (1881) Volume III, ages.

54 Higgs, 'Women, Occupations and Work', 60-62.

55 Reports of Special Assistant Poor Law Commissioners on the Employment of Women and Children in
Agriculture PP (London, 1843) xii, 27.

56 Charles Vancouver, General view of the agriculture of the county of Devon [1808], repr. (Newton
Abbot, 1969).

37 Bridget Hill, Women, work and sexual politics in eighteenth-century England P'back edn (London,
1 994), 9 1 .

58 Joyce Burnette, 'The wages and employment of female day-labourers in English agriculture, 1 740-
1850', EcHR LVII:4 (2004), 664-690, 556.

59 DRO 3 1 6M/EA/20.

60 Edward Higgs, 'Occupational Censuses', 700-716.

61 Source: gardener's database.

62 PWDRO 69/M/7/28.

63 See for example, Ann Potter at Escot. DRO 96 1 M/M/E34.

64 PWDRO 874/2/2.

63 DRO 1508M/Devon/Estate/Labour Books V10.

66 DRO 3 16M add 3/FA5.

67 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 7 1 .

68 Editorial, The Garden, LXI, (1902), 65.

69 AGC, The Garden LXI 22.02.1902, 1 17.

70 AIB The Garden LXI 08.03.1902, 163.

71 RB, The Garden LXI 22.02.1902, 1 17.

72 RB, The Garden LXI 22.02. 1902, 1 17.

73 RB, The Garden LXI 22.02.1902, 1 17.

74 Alexander Somerville, The Autobiography of a Working Man (London, 1848), 149; See also Charles
Mcintosh, The Book of the Garden Vol 1. Structural (Edinburgh & London, 1853), 486.

75 SP Herts, The Garden, LXI 22.02.1902, 1 17.

76 SP Herts, The Garden, LXI 22.02.1902, 1 17.

77 GCJ Berks., The Garden LXI 15.03.1902, 179.

78 Experientia Docet, The Garden LXI 15.03.1902, 179.

79 SP Herts, The Garden LXI 22.02.1902, 117; A Foreman, The Garden LXI 01.03.1902, 146.
80 DROZ19/20/36.

81 The Garden LXI 01.03.1902, 145.

82 The Garden LXI 08.03.1902, 163.

83 Five people were paid 'washing' money at Castle Hill. This amounted to 13s 3d a month for one, 8s

WAd. each for the other four. DRO 1262M/E1/63.

84 DRO Z 19/20/3 6.

85 SP Herts, The Garden, LXI 22.02.1902, 117.

Census PRO RG12 St Giles in the Wood, 1891.

87 AGC, The Garden, LXI 01.03.1902, 145.

88 CJH, The Garden LXI 22.03.1902, 196.

89 JMB, TheGardenlXl 22.03.1902, 196.

90 27k? Garden LXI 29.03.1902, 212.

91 GCJ Berks., The Garden LXI 15.03.1902, 179.

92 AGC, The Garden, LXI 01.03.1902, 145.

93 JHC, The Garden, LXI 01.03.1902, 145.

94 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 7.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

144

95 The Garden LXI 22.02.1902, 1 17.

96 RB, The Garden LXI 22.02. 1902, 1 17.

97 JMB, The Garden LXI 22.03.1902, 196.

98 Quo, The Garden LXI 22.03.1902, 196.

99 Experientia Docet, The Garden LXI 15.03.1902, 179.

100 JHC, The Garden, LXI 01.03.1902, 145.

101 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 129.

102 Pers communication. There were two bothies at Maristow, one in the garden, which backed onto the
lasshouses and another near the Middle Lodge.

63 Census PRO RG12 Withycombe Raleigh, 1891; PRO RG10 Bicton, 1871; PRO RG9 Kenton,1861.

104 Gardener's Chronicle (GC) 20.08.1887; DWT 19.04.1895, 4a; D0T21.O6.1895, 4a.

105 J. C. Loudon, 'The Effect of a General Penny Post on Periodical Literature', The Times 09.05.1839,
5d.

106 J. C. Loudon, 'Education of Gardeners' Gardener's Magazine (GM) 1 (1826), 356.
107 1. P. Burnard, 'On the Remuneration of Gardeners', GM 1 (1826), 141-144, 141.

108 NDRO 2239B add8/122; DRO Z19/20/36.

109 DRO 961M/M/E34. DRO L1258M/ V4/4; DRO L1258M add 9/E3/1-10; DRO 3610Z and add/1-4.

110 PWDRO 874/1/1, 11-14, 17-20, 27-28, 31-38; 874/2-11; 874/24/1-2.

111 DRO 867B/E9/4/3; PWDRO 74/uncatalogued; 74/404.

112 £F/> 25.08.1880, 4a.
,13 D0T21.O6.1895 4a.

114 GM4 (1828), 440.

115 GM4 (1828), 441.

1,6 The Gardener's Magazine 8.06.1872, 284.

117 DRO 1262M/E1/63.

118 PWDRO 69/M/6/155.

119 A.L. Bowley, 'Rural Population in England and Wales: A Study of the Changes of Density,
Occupation, and Ages', Journal of the Royal Statistical Socity 77:6 (1914), 597-652, 645.

120 DRO 1262M/E1/63, carpenters paid 19s 6d, painters and masons paid 18s a week.

121 Enville Hall Archives, Garden Labour Books 1826-1843, 1900.
122 DRO2610Zandadd4.

123 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 8.

124 DRO 1262M/E1/63.

125 DRO 316M add3/FA12/45; 1508M Devon/Estate/Labour Books Vll; 1262M El/63.

126 John Cameron, 'On the Conduct of Gardeners and their Employers', GM3 (1828), 156-7, 156.

127 Cameron, 'On the Conduct', GM3 (1828), 156-7, 156.

128 PWDRO 74/uncatalgued.

129 DRO 1508M Devon/Estate/Labour Books/Vl; PWDRO 74/729; DRO 961M/add/E34

130 NDRO 2239B/12/la; DRO 96M/Box 2/6

131 Burnette, 'Wages', 675.

132 PWDRO 874/3/9; 74/404.

133 DRO 346M/E10; PWDRO 874/3/27; PWDRO 69/M/7/28.

134 Somerset Record Office (SRO) DD\SF 4533, Nynehead; SRO DD\P1/14/14, Somerton Erleigh.

135 Cornwall Record Office (CRO) CY/1093 Pentiltie; Enville Hall Archives Labour Books.

136 DRO 316M add 3/FA5/4, 6, 7, 12, 15, 22, 24.

137 DR0 961M/add/E34.

138 DRO 3610Z and add/1; Z19/20/36-7.

139 PWDRO 874/24/2.

140 Hooper, Gardeners' Bothy, 18.

141 PWDRO 69/M/7/28.

142 PWDRO 69/M/7/28; 74/729.

143 DR0961M/M/E34.

144 DR0961M/M/E34.
143 DRO Z19/20/36-37.

146 DRO Z 19/20/3 6.

147 DRO 961M/M/E34.

148 DRO 96 1 M/M/E34

149 DRO 7140 (96M) East Devon Cash Book 1872-1877.

150 The Garden 2 1 .03 . 1 89 1 , 277.

151 NDRO B 170 add/91.

152 DRO Z 19/20/36.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

145

153 DRO 3610Z and add/1: Census records for Milton Abbot.

154 Castle C/2/7 Box 3 F136; DRO 867B/E8/1.

155 Vancouver, Agriculture, 361-363.

156 GM 18, (1842), 561.

157 EFP 13.09.1876.

158 GCJ, Berks, The Garden, 15.03.1902, 179.

159 The Garden 29.03.1902, 212.

160 The Gardener's Magazine, 13.01.1872, 14.

161 Hooper, Gardeners' Bothy, 18.

162 The Times 20.06.1896, 10a.

163 Andrew Jackson Downing, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to
North America [1844], 4 th edn (New York, 1859), 500.

164 GM 18 (1842), 562-563, 567.

165 GM 18 (1842), 562-563.

166 GM18 (1842), 562-563.

167 James Barnes, 'Art II, Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. In a Series of Letters to the
Conductor', GM IS (1842), 555-567, 557.

168 Barnes, GM 18 (1842), 562.

169 Downing, Landscape Gardening, 500.

170 GM18 (1842), 562-563.

171 Samuel and Sarah Adams, The Complete Servant [1825] Ann Haly ed. (Sussex, 1989), 171.

172 Thompson, Gardener's Assistant, 193.

173 The London Journal of Arts, Sciences, and Manufactures and Repertory of Patent Inventions 31
(1847), 214.

174 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 315-335.

175 Thompson, Gardener's Assistant, 173.

176 PWDRO 74/729; DRO 316M add 3/FA14/9.

177 DRO L1258M/V4/4.

178 PWDRO 74/404.

179 DRO 316M add3/FA10, 13; PWDRO 74/404; PWDRO 874/24/2.

180 Annals of Horticulture and Year-Book (1 848), 334.

181 T. R., 'Destroying Weeds Upon Walks', The Floricultural Cabinet, and Florist 's Magazine (1 85 1),
232.

182 The Gardener (1870), 571.

183 GM 19 (1893), 495-6, 46-47.

184 The Gardener (1870), 37, 140, 286, 269-70, 336, 383, 526-7, 568.

185 Thompson, Gardener's Assistant, Vol 6, 173.

186 J. Loudon, Gardening for Ladies 7 th edn (London, 1 846), 120; Robert Hunt, 'A Treatise on the
Progressive Improvement and Present State of the Manufactures' in Metal II Iron and Steel New edn
(London, 1853), 44.

187 Whereas, in most gardens, tools were supplied, knives were personal items and sometimes paid for by
the gardener, for example on a note dated 7 th February 1838 sent with a cheque to Alexander Pontey by
W. R. Ilbert of Horswell, 'I have deducted for the two knives charged in January as the gardener finds
them for himself , see DRO 316 add3M/FA 16/41. In the majority of cases however, Jobbing gardeners

had to supply their own tools.

188 The Gardener's Magazine, 15.02.1873, 74.

189 William Barron, The British Winter Garden: Being a Practical Treatise on Evergreens; Showing Their
General Utility in the Formation of Garden and Landscape Scenery, and Their Mode of Propagating and
Removal From One to Fifty Feet in Height, as Practised at Elvaston Castle (London, 1 852), 31-37.

190 Shirley Hibberd, Amateur's Flower Garden (London, 1871), 12.
191 GM1 (1831), 611.

192 Charles Mcintosh, Book of the Garden Vol II, Cultural (Edinburgh & London, 1855), 779.

193 GM7 (1831), 611.

194 The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste 5 (Philadelphia, 1855), 335.

195 The Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener and Country Gentleman New series 1 (1861), 301.

196 DRO 1508M/Devon/Accounts/V58.

197 EFP 28.04.1869, 4c.

198 GM7 (1831), 611; SRO DD\SF/4533; DRO 316M/EA/15-21.
199 PWDRO 273/238 Newnham; The Gardener (1870), 228-9.

200 DWT 12 .04.i872, 4; NDRO 2309 B/21 1/10.

201 NDRO 2309B/211/10; DWT 12.04.1872, 4.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

146

202 DRO961M/M/E34.

203 DWT 26.07. 1895.

204 pwdro 710/198; Kitley gardens paid Is each for mole traps in 1894 see PWDRO 74/375.

205 The West Britain, 19.05.1841.

206 pwdro 74/729; Twenty nests were destroyed at Streatham Hall in 1873 see DRO Z19/20/36.

207 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 66.

208 Shirley Hibberd, The Town Garden: A Manual for the Management of City and Suburban Gardens 2
edn (London, 1859), 188.

209 PWDRO 874/3/1 & 13; 74/729.

210 Hibberd, Amateur's Flower, 212.

211 The Gardener (1870), 314, 840.

212 The Gardener (1870) 436.

213 PWDRO 874/24/1-2.

214 Cottage Gardening 4.05.1898, 23; Hibberd, Amateur's Flower, 212.

215 The Garden, 19.08.1893, 176.
2,6 The Gardener (M0), 140.

217 James Barnes, 'Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management - Letter xix Crane-necked Short-
handled Hoes', GM 19, 1843, 495-497, 496.

218 The Gardener (November 1870), 523.
2,9 DRO 3610Z and add/1.

220 DRO 3610Z and add/1.

221 DRO 3610Z and add/1.

222 Gardener's Magazine 9.08.1873, 404.

223 At Kew, in 1895, four men received a wage of only 9s 4d a week, which was considered to be 'far
below a living wage'. See The Times 31.05.1895, 6g.

224 The Gardener's Magazine 13.01.1872, 14.

Future

27.07.1872, 404.

Chapter Three: 'Of Operators and Serving Gardeners'

147

CHAPTER FOUR

The Perfect Gardener

Introductio

Head Gardeners and Their Employers

The Role of the Head Gardener

The Single-Handed Head Gardener

Living Conditions of Head Gardeners - Marriage and Children

Cost of a Head Gardener to an Estate - Provision and Maintenance of

Housing

Pay and Conditions

Perquisites

Management of Staff

Managing Finances

Managing Records

The Competitive World of the Head Gardener - Trialling Plants

Competition at Horticultural Shows

Communication Between Gardeners

Fathers and Sons - Succession

Summary

CHAPTER FOUR

The Perfect Gardener

A Head Gardener in a large establishment is an individual of no little
importance, and is usually a man possessing a considerable amount of practical
knowledge and a fair education. 1

Introduction

Top of his profession, and the most important person in a private garden, was the head
gardener. He had most certainly gone through years of training, including a lengthy
apprenticeship, had gained experience through his time spent as a journeyman, or under
gardener, in a variety of gardens and garden departments, both private and commercial
and was confirmed in his position by his capacity for management. Although employed
as servants, head gardeners to a large extent belonged in the professional section of
workers. They were rarely at the top of the professional hierarchy, but part of those who

'reach much further down the social pyramid than ever landlordship or even business
capital did'. 2 Most were well, if 'self educated; they were articulate and influential.
Their salaries placed them at the bottom of the middle class, but in many gardens they
lived in substantial accommodation. It was rare that their wives worked, and most kept
at least one indoor servant themselves. Although they lacked protective trade
organisations, they attached themselves to horticultural societies where they rubbed

shoulders with the gentry and aristocracy and where they could use their influence to
determine the quality of produce grown and the education of young gardeners. They
were often members of public bodies, becoming trustees of such organisations as local
charities and had a paternalistic attitude, not only to their staff, but also to the poor in
their neighbourhood. For example James Barnes started one of the first cottage garden
societies in Kent, although he was denied the opportunity to do the same at Bicton.

Loudon advised that owners, who were not garden experts, should be guided by
nurserymen in their choice of head gardener as, 'very much of the comforts and
pleasures which a private gentleman derives from his garden, and garden scenery,
depends on the qualifications of the gardener which he employs to manage them'.
Having reached the pinnacle of his profession, a head gardener was expected to have the
authority to organise a garden. Although he had the autonomy to follow his own
interests, his responsibilities were first and foremost to ensure a regular supply of fruit
and vegetables to feed those who lived and worked on an estate. He also provided cut

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

149

flowers and posies, pot plants and flower decorations for the owner and his family,

whether living at home or away, and kept and maintained prestigious gardens to a high
standard, with items of interest for the appreciation of owners and visitors.

This chapter will show that head gardeners in Devon differed from their national
counterparts in that there were fewer opportunities within the county to train and work
in large prestigious gardens, although this was offset by the number of smaller estates
and villa gardens which needed staff. Many of those who worked in Devon's estate
gardens had a comparatively small permanent staff. An important part of a head
gardener's role was to ensure that his men were kept occupied, and during the winter
months if there was insufficient work in kitchen and pleasure grounds, the workforce
moved to indoor work or tree-planting in arboreta and plantations. This created a good
training ground for apprentices and journeymen who had the experience of working in
more than one garden area rather than having to specialise in one department at a time.

The head gardeners looked at in this chapter fall into two categories. Firstly, there were
the men who worked in the top gardens in the county. A few became celebrities with
several foremen and many under-gardeners and apprentices beneath them. Secondly,
there were the head gardeners who were in charge of a garden, but who had not yet
reached their final potential and were still working their way up the career ladder, or
who had settled for a lesser position. As has been shown in Chapter Two there was a
hierarchy within the gardening profession. This could change, as employment
circumstances changed and as men moved from garden to garden. For example:

A Head-Gardener or Upper Gardener, is a master who has apprentices or
journeymen employed under him. Out of place and working as a journeyman, he
retains the rank and title of master-eardener. but not of hMd-oarHenpr 5

The hierarchy of head gardeners depended, in part, on the garden owner's own position

and

example, Charles Bennett

gardeners in the county. He trained initially at Bicton and went on to work in important
gardens in Wiltshire and Worcestershire before returning to Devon to manage the
garden at Bradfield. 6

the lives of all the known apprentices and young
and therefore it is not known how many eventually

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener \ 50

became head gardeners, but Philip Lang, an apprentice at Heavitree aged 19 in 1851,
was a gardener at Winslade House in Exeter in 1861 and Head Gardener at Poltimore
from at least 1867 to 1881, Thomas Bray who trained at Peak House in Sidmouth
became a head gardener in Oxfordshire. 7

Within the different levels of the gardening hierarchy, individuals brought their own
personality to bear to affect their working practices. James Barnes, despite being in
overall charge of Bicton garden, still preferred to undertake some of the physical work
of gardening himself:

I must observe, that I am as fond of preparing for the planting out a cabbage, as I
am of tending the most beautiful or arresting plant in the hot house or
greenhouse; and I always make it a rule to have a hand in it myself. 8

For the purposes of this study the head gardener will be addressed as 'he' as it was not
until the very end of the nineteenth century that horticultural colleges took on some of
the training which had traditionally been undertaken by the head gardener. This enabled
middle class women to train as professional gardeners. Although it had long been
acknowledged that women worked as market gardeners and helped in nurseries (see

and Six\ women who wanted to become

faced with hostility from the gardening profession as a whole. 9 It was not until the
twentieth century that they were accepted in gardens by employers and their male
contemporaries. Some did succeed though; in 1901 Ada Cassidy was head gardener at
Bignor Park in Sussex, with, very unusually, three women under-gardeners, and Alice
Hutchings was a head gardener at Burstall in Suffolk in the same year. However, so far,
no women head gardeners have been found in Devon prior to the First World War. 10

Head Gardeners and their Employers

To date, a total of 640 head gardeners have been identified who worked in Devon
during the nineteenth century. This equates to just over four per cent of those listed on

the gardener database. For eighty of these men, there are limited records, with little
more than a name and where they worked. Frequently this is due to them working in the
county prior to the census of 1841. Fifty-six per cent are known to have been bom in
Devon, the remainder came from over thirty counties nationwide as well as from
Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Some men such as Emmanuel Culley, from Shillingford in
Berkshire, who worked at Strete Raleigh, Whimple from 1866 to 1870, where two of his

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener 1 5 1

sons were born, and Edwin Bryant, head gardener at Bickham, Buckland Monochorum,
were just passing through and were only based in Devon for a few years. 11 John Tidball
was at Escot for just three years from September 1862 until the end of December 1865,
but George Underdown, who followed him as head gardener to the Kennaway family in
April 1866, was still there in 1902; a total of thirty-six years. This was not uncommon,
obituaries and census returns show that having found a good position, gardeners
frequently stayed for many years in one garden. For example, Samuel Farquhar was
head gardener at Dunect near Aberdeen for fifty-two years, George Bond at Walcot in
Shropshire for forty-seven years and John Daniels at Swyncombe Park, Henley-on-
Thames for forty-two years. 13 In Devon, George Prince was at Newnham for forty
years, James Griffin at Eggesford for thirty-four years and Alexander Booth at Escot for
fifty years. 14 Jessica Gerard suggests that head gardeners stayed an average of eleven
years per garden. 15 The findings of this study, however, show the average length of time
for Devon head gardeners to remain in one place was just under fourteen years. A
comparison between Maristow and Escot gardens demonstrates that some estates had a
much higher turnover of staff than others (see Figure 4:1 below).

Figure 4:1. Comparison of number of head gardeners working in Maristow and
Escot gardens throughout the nineteenth century

1798
1800
1802
1807
1808
1814
1818
1825
1826
1838
1838
1838
1839
1843
1865
1876
1890
1901

Maristow

1800 Robert Venton

1 802 Thomas Flatman

1 806 Alexander Machid

1807 John Vanstone

1814 Robert Lakeman

1818 Nicholas Craig

1824 Martin Curley

1 826 Abraham Brooks

1837 William Kerslake*

1838 Francis Yole

1838 Ash**

1839 William Clink

1 843 Francis Morgan

1 854 Benjamin Dawson

1876 Philip Wright

1881 John Little

1891 Donald Mackay

1911 Robert Tutcher

1780
1833
1850
1862
1866

Escot

1830 Alexander Booth

1 847 John Mason

1862 James Towell*

1865 John Tidball

1 902 George Underdown

*died in service.

temporary man supplied by John Brown's Nursery.

PWDRO 874/3/1-61, 874/24/1-2, Census returns 181
30, 2d, 18.07.1833, 4d/e, 11.1 1.47; DRO 96 lM/add/E34

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

152

The number of gardeners who served at Maristow compared with just five for the same
period at Escot is difficult to explain. The salary paid at Maristow was similar to that
paid at Escot, except in the case of Philip Wright, where he was actually paid twenty
pounds a year more than George Underdown. It could have been difficult to find
another man who suited as well as William Kerslake who was in charge of the garden
for eleven years, but died in service. However, Maristow had had a high turnover of
men previous to Kerslake, so this is unlikely to be the case.

It may simply have been that some owners were just more difficult to work with. Mr J.
Freeman admitted to having had eight or nine gardeners since he had moved to The
Grange at Withycombe Raleigh, none lasting more than a few months. He claimed one
had lasted, 'nearly a year, but he had charge of the place whilst I was in 'foreign lands".
Freeman was being sued for non-payment of wages by two gardeners at the time this
comment was made. 1 6 This could give a hint as to why he had employed so many men
in less than ten years. A month earlier, John Shaxon, another gardener had also sued his
employer Mr Lindeman of Sidmouth for non-payment of wages. 17

Another owner, sued by a gardener, was Mr. Benmore of Exmouth. Benmore had
dismissed his gardener because some panes of glass on the roof of the glasshouse were
broken by the weight of snow, despite he said, of having ordered protective boards to be
placed on the roof. He claimed that the man, Samuel Gibbons, had been employed, not

as a gardener, but as a general labourer, although the wages paid of 18s in 1889, soon
raised to £1 a week, suggests that this was not the case. (Samuel Gibbons was listed in
the census as a gardener from 1881 to 1901. His father Edward, was also a gardener). It
appears from the write-up of the case that the court had more sympathy with Benmore
who joked throughout the proceedings gaining the sympathy of the court. As a result,
the judgement went against Gibbons who was forced to pay for copies of the
Gardener 's Chronicle given to him by Mrs Benmore. 18

It was probable that earlier in the century a gardener would have accepted being
summarily dismissed without payment of wages, but the successful court case of James
Barnes versus Lady Rolle had changed the attitude of gardeners to their employers. In
1869, Barnes had left Bicton having claimed that his health was failing due to over-
work. His employer, Lady Rolle, was upset that after almost thirty years as head
gardener he had left, and committed her dissatisfaction to paper making the complaint

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

153

that Barnes had left the garden in an untidy state. Barnes, having been made aware of
these letters, and with a reputation as a top head gardener to defend, sued Lady Rolle.
The court case was heard in London rather than locally where Lady Rolle might have
had more influence on the judgement. The libel was admitted and Mr Lopes, acting for
the defendant, suggested to the jury that this should be sufficient in itself and that
Barnes should be awarded token damages of just one farthing in compensation.
However, the jury awarded Barnes damages of £100 (almost one years' salary) and
costs. The case was written up in The Times and in the horticultural press and was
received with mixed feelings by gardeners and employers alike. 19

Robert Begbie had followed Barnes to Bicton. Aged 50, he was probably looking for a

four and

years and moved at least twice more before he retired. Begbi<

situation by criticising publicly the plant management of Barnes.

In 1897 Kelly's Directory of Devonshire listed ninety-six head gardeners under the title
of 'Private gardeners'. Of these, fifteen were employed by women and seven by
clergymen. Seventy-two worked for aristocracy and gentry. In the 1906 edition of the
Directory the number had increased to 128 gardeners, serving twenty-one women,
fourteen clergy and six institutions, in addition to gentlemen owners. The listing oi

these men demonstrates how the head gardener continued to grow in importance into
the twentieth century, and the variety of gardens in which he might have worked.

George Balment worked at the Devon County School and George Mortimore at the
Devon County Asylum at Exminster. The latter position had been advertised in August
1877 with wages of 21s per week (£54.12s a year). 21 It is not known whether or not the
gardener was employed to teach the inmates, using gardening as a form of therapy, but
fit males from the asylum certainly worked in the garden under his supervision.
Institutions which employed gardeners included reformatory schools and workhouses
(see page 79). Other employers of head gardeners included the Devon and Exeter
hospital where James Barrow worked, assisted by an under-gardener, to keep the
grounds in order. 23 Hotels too, employed men, such as William Newcombe who worked
at the Imperial Hotel in Exmouth, to keep the grounds 'in a state of perfection' and
George Smaldon who worked at the Ilfracombe Hotel in 1891 24 Hotel grounds were
intended to provide somewhere to walk or to sit and to give the feel of a country house

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

154

garden, which it was hoped, would encourage wealthier tourists to stay in their
premises.

There were also gardeners employed in the many parks in the county. In 1898 Exeter
City Council considered for a long time as to whether they should pay a working
gardener or employ a superintendent to oversee all the park gardeners in the city.
Eventually, it was decided to employ a working 'Foreman' gardener, who would fulfil
both roles. He was to be paid £1.10s a week (£78 a year) with a house. Two men
solicited the council for the position. Mr Bartlett, aged 27, and Mr Andrews, an older
man of 52, who had worked with the Veitch nursery and had a background that would
enable him to, 'deal with large orders and lay out grounds as the City Council
required*. 25 The decision was difficult in that Mr Andrews was considered somewhat
elderly for the position, yet he had the qualifications, whereas Mr Bartlett had youth on
his side. After much deliberation, the Council appointed Mr Andrews and suggested

that when he retired, that Mr Bartlett reapply for the position. 26 Richard Moore,
formerly in service as an ornamental gardener to his Grace the Duke of Somerset at
Stover, and who had also worked at Veitch & Son, secured a position in charge of the
public cemetery in Exeter in 1843, 'James Sclater having been dismissed'. The salary of
£1 per week proved very attractive and there were thirty six candidates for this position,
of which seven were short-listed.

Malcolm Dunn suggested a written contract of work between a gardener and owner
would go, ' a long way to prevent future misunderstandings and numerous
heartburnings*. Although no contracts have been found for Devon gardeners for the
nineteenth century it is known that they would have existed. The agent for Powderham
in estimating the minimum requirements for a garden staff wrote down his expectations
of the head gardener's responsibilities:

The Gardener should be required ... to keep the Kitchen Garden, the Grotto
Garden and the Flower Garden in front of the Castle entirely, and also to keep
the Paths & Edging, weed the Clumps, and clean up the Grass after mown in the
Pleasure Ground by the Castle. He should also attend to the old Houses in the
latter place, so long as they may be kept up. 29

Sometimes, especially in smaller gardens, the owner would communicate directly with
the gardener. Many owners would have sent their instructions by letter to wives, family
members or an agent as Sir Francis Drake did to Nicholas Rowe when he was in

Chapter Four. The Perfect Gardener

155

London. 30 At Maristow and Buckland Abbey the agent, George Giles, looked after both
properties. Unfortunately few of these records survive and it is even rarer to see the
response from a gardener. An unusual method of communication was used by the
Combe Family of Earnshill at Curry Rivel in Somerset. Paper was folded into sections.
On one side there were instructions and questions, on the other the answers. The papers
were sent to either a brother (Edward) or to the gardener direct and included requests for
plants. (See Figure 4:2 below).

Figure 4:2. Sample of instructions sent backwards and forwards with produce
between Coombe family concerning the administration of Earnshill household and
gardens and the Ilminster estates

From R. T. Coombe to Edward and

Gardener

From Edward or the gardener

Send the gardener a peck of early Arrived at Curry, but not brot here yet

frame peas - he must return the bag
by the next basket
March 1 1815

I sent some cuttings of the America
poplar some of which plant in the
south garden some in a more shady
garden and some in any place
which Edward or you may think they
will thrive.

Tell the gardener to use every | Told

rats

precaution to prevent
destroying the garden crops.
Tell the gardener to
potatoes of Mr Harding of Hele Farm
South Petherton.

Take a list of the flower seeds.

seed ordered, had

sent March 1 5

Desire the gardener to send some Mar 22 nd Please to get some China Asters
myrtle Erica carnea, and any other Seeds in Bath as I forgot to put it in the list
flowers next basket for Maddisons | of seeds that was sent to London
epergne - rather more myrtle than he
sent last and some leaves for fruit

dishes

there are plenty

apples for our own use to send 2 doz
of good nonpareils Johnnys.

Did you not write for some thing to | Yes
destroy the rats and has it been sent
Send some nuts next basket and the I Jan

paper containing
bunches of

number

out

1816 [from gardener] Please to

Mats

DD\CM/37

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

156

The gardener kept his own lists of produce sent in a note book. For example:

March 1815. Celery, Sea Cale, Flowers, Asparagus, Savoys, Parsley,
Horseradish, Spinage, Endive, Small Salad, Brocolli, Baking apples, table
apples, endive, Filberts, Cob nuts, Greens, salad radishes, Flowers. [Author's
punctuation] 31

The Role of the Head Gardener

Loudon suggested that a head gardener should keep himself at the top of his profession

by:

...taking care to be informed of every improvement and invention in his line, as
they are discovered and made public. He must not only know all that is in books,
but must be in advance in knowledge; not only ready to apply all the best
practices, but fertile in expedients on extraordinary occasion, and in cases of

novelty, difficulty, or emergency. 32

As shall be seen, this last phrase demonstrates the wide-ranging role of the head
gardener. Not only was he in charge of the gardens, but frequently of plantations and
farms, combining his role with that of a woodman, hind, agent, estate or farm bailiff or
even sometimes, as in the case of John Glanfield at Woodlands House, as gamekeeper.
Gardeners were contacts for the sale of the deer park at Buckerell, sold timber at
Ashbury and let milch cows at Heanton Court. They arranged for ice houses to be
filled in winter, ensured their men acted as watchmen at night and security men by day.
They were caretakers during the owners' absence, and frequently ran the estate fire-
service. In addition, head gardeners escorted visitors around the estate, kept detailed
weather and plant records, experimented with the latest plant imports, and created
designs and colour schemes in gardens. It is no wonder that James Barnes claimed he

worked 'from 18 to 20 hours daily'.

Thomas Flatman at Maristow, John Forester at Endsleigh and John Veitch at Killerton
acted as overseers, organising clearing and planting of land, construction of garden
features and buildings, and supervising the home farm. 36 The head gardener's work was
frequently combined with caring for plantations and nurseries, and they were
responsible for paying workmen and contractors. They therefore needed management
skills in addition to a practical understanding of gardening. Many, like Barnes, had
previously worked in nurseries and market gardens in or around London before

becoming a head gardener and brought the skills of commercial gardening to benefit
private gardens.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

157

An educated gardener who was able to assimilate new ideas and working practices was
more likely to gain employment with the wealthier class of garden owner. He was
expected to be a professional, who acted as a middleman between owners and staff, and
to be of impeccable moral character:

First of all, his character must be able to bear the strictest investigation; his
integrity and uprightness irreproachable. His general appearance should have a
commanding influence, and his countenance of a drawing rather than of a
repulsive nature; a man you can approach with the confidence and assurance of
having meted out to you justice tempered with mercy. As to his abilities, he must
not only be thoroughly practical in all branches of the profession but he must
have good managing abilities, and be thoroughly educated so as to converse on
any or all subjects with the ease and comfort of a barrister-at-law. 37

With expectations such as these it was no wonder that he was called 'Mr

contemporaries and addressed as 'Sir' by his staff. 38 To denote his status, in
photographs he is frequently shown wearing a top hat or a bowler, whereas the under
gardeners wore flat caps. His word was law and nobody would dare question his orders
or decisions. Often owners and their families were equally in awe, asking permission to
cut flowers or take visitors through the kitchen garden:

He objects, on principle, to his choicest blossoms being cut by his mistress or her
daughters, or the finest bunches of grapes being gathered; when his green-houses
and hot-houses are to be rifled, he prefers that it should be done by himself rather
than by his mistress, and ladies who value their gardeners are inclined to humour
this weakness. 40

The head gardener controlled the daily lives of all the gardeners working beneath him,
and frequently influenced their future as well. As has been seen in Chapter Two, he had
the power to discharge a man or find him a position elsewhere, to withhold a reference,
or conversely, to give encouragement and help towards a successful future.

The Single-Handed Head Gardener

The wide ranging responsibilities of a single-handed gardener would have been similar
to that of a top head gardener in that he would have been in charge of the garden.
However, he would have been a hands-on working gardener, not just a superintendent
and may have had many other duties to fulfil as well, such as overseeing a small dairy:

In small families, or in gardens not exceeding an acre, with a paddock of three or
four acres for a horse or cow, it is usual to keep but one gardener, who, at an out-

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

158

door salary of a guinea a week, performs all the necessary work in the garden,
milks the cow, feeds the poultry, and, sometimes, takes care of the horse, his
assistant being a jobbing labourer during a few weeks of particular duty. ... the
only questions which arise between them and their employer, are the difficulties
which they feel at first in accommodating the practice on a large scale to that on
a small and economical one; but, when reconciled to this, no situation is more
independent and comfortable than that of the solitary and accommodating

gardener.

Loudon recommended that single-handed gardeners should be chosen from the lowest
order of regular gardeners, presumably little more than a garden labourer, as, 'all of a
higher grade will expect to have labourers under them to do the rougher work.' He
maintained it would be * worth while to give good wages to get one of the best, as it will
be much to the advantage of the master to obtain a person of a tolerable degree of

intelligence'.

Many gardeners in Devon would have worked without any help at all, or with just a boy
or a casual labourer to help at busy times, as there were a large number of villa gardens
in the county for retirees, tradesmen and middle-class professionals. Trained gardeners
had the option of several positions. Large villas at Teignmouth created work for
Thomas Webb at Fair Oak, Samuel Frost at Cambrien, Lewis Jackman at Clifden
Lodge, James Howard at The Rowdens and William Crispin at Florian Lodge. 43 There
were fewer gardens with a large garden staff, but even in important gardens there were
differences between a 'working' head who worked alongside his men, and one who was
a manager, left free to deal with nurserymen, designers, other head gardeners or to plan
for horticultural shows. The aspirations of a garden owner dictated the expectation of a
gardener.

Some gardeners direct much of their attention and skill to forcing fruit, flc
and vegetables, and are allowed by their masters to exhibit specimens oi
skill in this direction; but as this forcing system, when carried out to any t
is attended with no little expense, both as regards money and time, some ir
object to its being indulged in; and again, many people think that mo
forcing, for their own table, of such vegetables as potatoes, French beans
asparagus, in addition to cucumbers and mushrooms, &c, are all that is rec
and dispense with such luxuries as strawberries, pines, and melons until th
fairl v in season and not whollv out of season. 44

Living Conditions of Head Gardeners - Marriage and Children

In contrast with journeymen, head gardeners were frequently expected to be married,
although often without children. The latter was a source of complaint in the gardening

Chapter Four. The Perfect Gardener 1 59

press where gardeners expressed their dissatisfaction at this restriction when attempting
to find work if they already had a family. 45 However:

Early marriages are not always conducive to the future success, prosperity, and
happiness of a gardener, and it would be well for every young man to give the
matter his serious consideration before entering the matrimonial state. For he
will find many of the advertisements for gardeners close with a special request
that there be no family, or if a family is allowed it must be a small one. 46

A family put a strain on a gardener's time and finances. This prohibited him from
spending time and money on studying which could also prevent him from obtaining the
positions he needed to enhance his career. Marriage and a family could split loyalties.

Information from the gardeners' database suggests that many men such as William
Gillies (Stevenstone), Albert Williams (Knowle Cottage) and James Farmer
(Knightshayes), married on obtaining a position as a head gardener. Frequently head
gardeners' wives had previously been servants and were often older than their husbands.
Termed 'life-style servants' by Jessica Gerard, their life skills, gained while in service,
were an asset to the gardener. 47 Having a wife ensured that there was someone to look
after the young gardeners on an estate, often housed as lodgers or boarders in their own
home. Albert Stewart at Collipriest and William Litter at Bickham both lodged with the
head gardener, as did some under-gardeners at Flete 48 At Fremington, John and Susan
Bartlett had two young gardeners living with them in 1861 and when John moved to

board in Fremington House itself, George Hem was cared for by Susan in a cottage on
the estate 49 Wives also acted as hostess when other gardeners or nurserymen visited the
garden.

In common with many middle class women, wives of the top gardeners were not
expected to have an occupation of their own. In less important gardens wives could be
called upon to act in a variety of capacities to benefit an estate. Ann Keddie was a
housekeeper at Heathfield, Aveton Gifford while John was head gardener at Horswell. 50
Where a wife did work, it was usually because their husband was gardener to a smaller
establishment where a couple Hived in'; wives like Eliza Ann Cridge, at Dawlish and
Ann Frost at Cambrian Villa in Teignmouth, acted as cooks and laundresses. 51 Other
couples included Jonathan and Margaret Pickard at Torquay and George and Mary
Widicombe at Mamhead Rectory. 52 Wives sometimes took up an occupation when their
husband was getting older, partially to add financial support, hence Elizabeth Ellis
recorded no occupation when her husband was in his forties and fifties and worked at

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener 1 £n

Flete, but as they aged and their children had left home she was listed in the census as a
laundress. 53 When John McEvoy married Margaret Robertson in 1846 she was already
housekeeper at Arlington Court. 54

Married head gardeners who lived on a rural estate required accommodation. This was
usually a purpose built gardener's house which should be, 'as near the garden as
possible'. 55 Where there was no specific gardener's house an estate lodge or cottage was
used. Many of the larger villa owners also provided a gardener's house or cottage, to
enable the gardener to oversee, often literally, the daily work. For this reason many
gardeners' houses were placed near to, or within the kitchen garden. Where records
have been found, forty-three percent of head gardeners lived in a gardener's house
within the gardens, twenty-seven percent lived in a lodge on the estate, fourteen percent
occupied a cottage in the grounds and only eight percent lived in the main house, (see
Figure 4:3 below). A further nine percent were housed elsewhere. The latter were most
frequently gardeners in urban areas such as Dawlish, Sidmouth, Exeter St Davids and
Topsham where there was no gardener's cottage provided, instead they lived within
easy walking distance of the garden. These were also probably gardens which had
minimal staff and without elaborate glasshouses which needed regular attention.

Figure 4:3. Percentage of gardeners accommodated by garden owners

Source: Gardener's database.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

161

Young or unmarried head gardeners, like Thomas Whiddon, 27, and Thomas Yole, 36,
were accommodated in servants quarters. Gardeners also slept in the house to protect
the property in the absence of the owner. Proof that this was needed was seen at Cleave
House in Exeter, when a burglary was foiled because the gardener had taken valuables
into his bedroom in the house when his master was away. 56

A * Common Sense Reforming Gardener' worried that the practice of combining the role
of caretaker and gardener led to few opportunities for 'self-improvement' for a man
who could be distracted by the other occupants of the servants hall. He complained that
* drinking, swearing, and low language is as much to be found in such a place, generally
speaking, as in the ale-house'. 57 Some gardeners combined both forms of living
arrangements, moving to live in the owner's house as and when needed, but otherwise

having their own accommodation, as seen with John Bartlett above. 58

Cost of a Head Gardener to an Estate - Provision and Maintenance of Housing

Provision of gardener's housing did not come cheaply. There were taxes to be paid on
the house, the cost of building and maintenance. During the garden restorations at
Bicton in 1837, Lady Louisa Rolle forwarded a plea from the gardener (probably Robert
Glendinning), to improve his own accommodation which was certainly no elaborate
purpose built gardener's house.

The

see no objection to it, if you do not

western

He also requests to have a little bit of the old fruit house not now used, (since the

^h«*s* r>+ naur Anf^AM limn U.iJW \ AUrXA^A ()ff Wlttl ~ J ~ *~ - I — x_ Ia £• i1_

Wash

In 1853 a quotation of £130 was received to re-roof the Bicton gardener's house in lead,
'as the pitch of the roof of the said cottage is too flat for a slate roof and the roof cannot
be raised because it would form an unpleasant object if seen above the roof the Temple.'
The total cost of the work including re-roofing the adjoining Temple was estimated to
be £280 even with the deduction of £40 for the value of the old lead. 60

Loudon was as involved in designing gardener's houses as in all other aspects of

gardeners' lives. He published several designs, assisted by 'an architectural
draughtsman' in the Gardener 's Magazine, one of which, a bungalow with cellars
underneath, included an office, a wash house and a beer-cellar. 61 In The Encyclopaedia

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

162

of Gardening he had suggested that a gardener's house should be as near the garden as
possible and recommended that in addition to *a kitchen and sleeping rooms, the
gardener's house should contain at least one good parlour.' He also maintained that
'where the head- gardener's house is in the kitchen garden, a flower-garden ought to be
allowed for his wife', not too far away from their residence. 62 A parlour and flower
garden were not just to benefit the gardener, but were necessary for entertaining guests.
In this age of improvements to housing Charles Mcintosh had similar ideas and thought
that a basic gardener's house should contain 'three bedrooms with wall closets in each',

>ur\ a dining room, pantry, larder, kitchen, water closet and

The gardener's house at Lupton was obviously built in this fashion containing, a front

and back kitchen, parlour, three bedrooms and 'necessaries'. 64 The contrast between a
head gardener's house and that of the journeymen living in a bothy was immense. At

Maristow, the two-roomed bothy was, as was common, built in the sheds behind the
glasshouses and was occupied by William Blackmore and Walter Bond the under-

and his wife Janet lived in a substantial

adjoining the kitchen garden.

However, there were problems with tied houses where 'a head gardener with a house to
live in rent free is a menial servant and is liable to be discharged on a month's notice.' 66
Loudon was aware of this problem in 1822 and wrote:

As a gardener, in common with other domesticated servants, is liable to be
removed from the house he occupies at short notice, and without any reference to
his having, or being able to procure another, it follows, as a matter of justice, that
what are called house fixtures should be provided by the master. 67

Equally the death of an owner could cause the loss of a job and home (see Chapter
Two). When John Yarde Buller, Baron Churston, died in 1871, the head gardener
continued to run the garden at Lupton as normal. However, by April 1873, the gardens
were being advertised to let to 'Market Gardeners and Others'. The tenancy to include
about four and a half acres of garden which contained the gardener's house with the
gardener in residence. 68 It is not known whether the gardens were let at this time, but in

1897 they were let to Matthew Peeke, market gardener. George Erskine, the gardener at
Lupton since at least 1861, was still in residence in August 1873 acting as a Judge at the
Torbay Horticultural Society Exhibition, although he had retired by 1881. 69 Conversely,

family

Clovelly Court and William Gullick at Kelly House.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

163

Pay and Conditions

Another cost to the estate was that of the salary and wages of the head gardener and his
staff. Servant tax was also paid for gardeners who were deemed to be in service. This
was fifteen shillings per annum at Fremington for one man in 1887.

A superior head gardener had several advantages over the position of a journeyman or
under-gardener. His status rose so that he was on a par with the top staff indoors usually
the butler and the cook, but unlike them, he rarely lived in the house and therefore was
not subject to house rules. His position was reinforced by the style in which he lived,
which frequently included a substantial, attractively designed house. Separate
accommodation gave him a freedom that other staff did not have. His income increased

although rarely to match his counterparts indoors. Alexander Keith earned £100 as
head gardener at Castle Hill in 1839. The house steward and French cook earned £105
and £130 respectively. 72

It is not always easy to identify what the head gardener was being paid, his salary was
often included as part of his general expenses. For example at Fremington the gardener
was often paid money on account. Sometimes expenditure was specified, 'May 23 By
Cash pd to Taylor for Gardens Coals Butchers meat given to poor and nursery bill

£52.11s.7d\ more often it was simply noted as 'on account' and could involve sums as
low as £5 (April 18 1882) to much larger sums 'Gardens account fl21.5s.Hl4d (March
1 st 1884). 73 These entries inform about his responsibilities, but not about his salary.

Arthur Hooper suggests that in 1926 a head gardener might be expected to earn £5 a
week, more than four times the wages of a journeyman. 74 The difference does not
appear to be so great in nineteenth century Devon. Henry Beddard earned exactly twice
the salary of the foreman Albert Ballhatchet, who earned just £3 .4s a year more than the
other journeymen in the garden. Although George Underdown earned £80 a year, he
received just over two and a half times as much money per year as his men.

Annual salaries at Maristow, Bicton and Stevenstone were paid quarterly. 76 Some men,

Saunders at Kitley and Richard Willis at Mamhead

An advantage to this system was that it could become a form of saving, enabling the
gardener to purchase property which ensured future security and independence.

Chapter Four. The Perfect Gardener

164

Figure 4:4. Salaries paid to head gardeners in Devon in the nineteenth century

Garden

From

Gardener

Maristow
Maristow
Maristow

Saltram

Kitley

Maristow

Endsleigh

Powderham

Endsleigh

Maristow

Kitley

Endsleigh

Saltram

Mamhead

Maristow

Castle Hill
Cemetery HG

Bridwell
Bicton

Horswell House
Saltram

Kitley
Escot

Powderham
Escot
Maristow
Escot

Stevenstone

Bicton

Escot

Maristow

Streatham Hall

Bicton

Stevenstone

Devon Asylum

Wiscombe

Kitley

Stover

Widdicombe

Bicton

Hall Estate

Bicton

Newnham Park

Watermouth

Gardens

Hall Estate

1802 1807 £50

1808 1814 £41.12s

1 809 1 83 1 £42-£50 + £ 1 1 for horse

1813 1814 £46.16s

1814 1818 £40

1815 1843 £50

1816 1833 £84

1818

£46. 16s

1818 1824 £40
1825 1826 £36.8s

Thomas Flatman

Alexander Mackid
Robert Lakeman

David Smith

Nicholas Craig

John Forrester

William Hall

William Cornelius

Martin Curley

Abraham Brooks

1826 1847 £36.8s: £4L12s from 1832 William Kerslake

1831 1854 £40

1834

£52

1834 1851 £70 to £80

1835 1855 £75

1838 1854 £48; £52 in 1839

1839 1841 £100

1843
1844

£52
£35

1845 1869 £110
1847 1855 £50

1852 1877 £70- £60 in '65 ?pension

1854

£78

1858 1862 £52 inc to £57.4s in 1860

1860

£52

1 862 1 865 £52

1865 1876 £75-£80

1866 1877 £54.12s:£80inl877

1866 1867 £60

1868 1869 £65

1869 1873 £110

1871

£60

1872 1876 £80

1872

£100

1873 1877 £110

1874 1877 £70: £80 in 1877

1877

£54. 12s

1878 1879 £52.15s

1881 1895 £60

1881 £65 (£70)

1882 1883 £50

1883 1886 £110

1883

£26 plus expenses

1886 1890 £85: £104.10s in 1889
1888 1890 £52.16s

1895

£100

1899 1903 £82,4s

Herman Saunders

Richard Luke
Richard Willis
William Clink

Alexander Keith
Richard Moore

James Barnes

John Keddie
John Snow

Herman Saunders
Towill

John Tidball
Philip Wright
George Underdown,
Alexander McKelvie
George Hood
Robert Begbie

George Underdown
Philip Wright
Henry Beddard
Alfred George

William Sharpe

George Mortimer
William Doble
Cawse

Samuel Shapley

William Creber
Frederick Jackson
William Tucker
William Phillips

William Tucker

Source: Wages database.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

165

With a cottage to live in, and allowances of vegetables, fuel and milk, living expenses
were low, so a salary paid in a lump sum meant that it could be used to purchase items
which otherwise would have had to be saved for over a much longer period. For
example, money could be invested or an annuity bought for retirement. Even a
contribution towards the Royal Gardener's Benevolent Fund acted as a form of health or
retirement insurance. Investment could also be made into a business, ensuring a
comfortable retirement or a legacy for family.

Head gardeners were mostly paid an annual salary which depended on the responsibility
they held and, to some extent, the importance of the garden (see Figure 4:4 above). In
1842 when Lord Rolle died, Barnes at Bicton, was paid £84 per year. However, by 1845
this had been increased to £110 and this remained the head gardener's salary until 1886

when, following the death of Lady Louisa Rolle the previous November, the head
gardener's salary was reduced to £85 a year plus the addition of an annual £4. 10s milk
allowance. By 1890 the salary had been increased to £100 plus a milk allowance. By
contrast, at Stevenstone, the other home of Mark Rolle who had inherited Bicton,
Alexander McKelvie was paid £60 per annum in 1866, George Hood £65 in 1868 and
William Sharpe £70 in 1874 rising to £80 in 1877. 78 This may have been because
Stevenstone was in north Devon where wages tended to be lower, or, simply that Bicton
was a more important garden.

The only other head gardeners to be paid a similar salary to those at Bicton were Henry
Beddard at Streatham Court in Exeter, Alexander Keith at Castle Hill and the gardener
at Watermouth, although the latter' s £100 salary was inclusive of the labourer's
wages. 79 William Tucker, on the Hall estate, only earned just over £80 a year in 1899,
but was also in receipt of a housekeeping allowance of a further £30.

Longevity in one position frequently ensured some form of security in that healthcare
was often provided; wealthy estates paying for doctor's visits and, where necessary,

sick pay. There was often the opportunity to purchase an annuity to provide an income

when retired. Some estates had retirement cottages where their pensioners could live
and in some cases long-service pensions were paid for loyal service, for example, John
Chapman at Stevenstone received a pension of four shillings a week. 81

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

166

Perquisites

Although a head gardener's salary was not always large, there were ways to increase his
income. Tips were paid to the gardeners for showing wealthy visitors around the garden.
Towards the end of the century, some of the visitors were less wealthy fellow gardeners,
or parties of people who belonged to groups such as the Exeter Rovers' Cycling Club or
the Exeter Gardeners' Mutual Improvement Association. Tips were also given if they
took plants to other gardens.

As has been seen in Chapter Two it was not uncommon for a head gardener to charge a
premium for training apprentices. Although this was considered a common practice it is
difficult to find proof that it was happening in Devon. Head gardeners did train
apprentices in Devon but as they were unlikely to keep details of this type of
transaction, probably made without the overt approval of the owner (any owner who
was a regular reader of the gardening press must have been aware of the practice), it can
only be speculation that this happened within the county.

There was also the possibility of backhanders from nurserymen for supply of plants, or
equipment. Arthur Hooper mentions that tradesmen who dealt with the head gardener

could be generous if they placed regular and substantial orders. 83 Discounts were given
by nurserymen for prompt payment, but the only record of these appear quite
legitimately in garden accounts, when for example Rendle's allowed 2s lid towards the
cost of fruit trees at Buckland Abbey inl820. 84

Head gardeners were also encouraged to endorse new products in a similar fashion to
how famous names are used today in advertisements. It is likely that they would have

been paid for this service. James Barnes, for example, endorsed Smith and Ashby's
products commenting:

The Hay-making Machine, which you supplied to Lady Rolle arrived in safety,
and we are well satisfied with its operation. It is our intention to order one of
your Patent Horse Rakes that we may work the two together. This I consider
very important. 85

Endorsements had the effect of keeping the name of the head gardener, the garden
owner and the estate in the public eye. In this case it also demonstrated that Bicton was
keeping up to date with all the latest technology.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

167

Some gardeners benefited from a legacy. Usually dependent on length of service it was
another area where the gardener often fared worse than his indoor counterparts. For
example, Mr John Dawson of Northbrooke Park, Exeter, left legacies of £1,000 to his
butler, £200 to a footman and £150 each to the head gardener and coachman. Mr
Sampson Hanbury's will left £100 each to his coachman and butler, but only £20 to the
gardener. 86 This may have been because, unless an owner was particularly interested in
gardening, the head gardener would have been a more distant figure. He would not
necessarily have had daily contact with the owner in the same way as a butler, footman
or coachman would have done.

Management of Staff

*...it is the head gardener's duty to apportion the work to each man employed in
the gardens and to see that it is properly performed'. 87

The number of gardeners employed in a garden varied according to its size, its contents,
and the work being undertaken. A garden with glasshouses required a larger and more
specialist staff. At Endsleigh there was always a core of at least twelve garden staff

which increased to seventeen in 1901. Prestigious gardens with several garden
departments would have employed a large staff comprising a head gardener, foremen,
under-gardeners, garden labourers, boys and women. 89 This number varied from year to
year according to circumstance and need, for example, many more labourers were
required to create a new garden.

One of the most important aspects of being a head gardener was to supervise the
creation and improvement of gardens, often adding designs of their own. Robert
Glendinning was responsible for implementing the designs of W.S. Gilpin at Bicton, but
he also laid out the lake and the kitchen garden himself. 90 Alexander Forsyth, dismissed
by the Earl of Shrewsbury from Alton Park for refusing to become a Roman Catholic,
was nevertheless given a reference by Nesfield, a garden designer, which enabled him
to come to Devon to supervise the creation of the new garden at Watcombe for
Isambard Kingdom Brunei. At the height of the construction he supervised about fifty
men, but by 1851 he had just fourteen men under him. 91 Other head gardeners who were

employed to oversee the creation of new gardens included Mr Martin who worked for

Sir B. P. Wrey at Gaule Lake House near Ashburton. He was responsible for 'laying out
an extensive garden a short distance from the house... with two large hot-houses of the

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

168

newest construction and terraces with evergreens to make a delightful country
residence.' 92 Mr Thomas Burnett, a young head gardener, who had trained with James
Veitch in Exeter, remodelled the garden at Ashby Court, Tiverton before leaving the
county to work in Slough, and James Enstone, head gardener at Weir House, Topsham,
was awarded the first prize for a plan to lay out the new grounds at Wonford Lunatic
Hospital for Exeter City Council. 93

A photograph of gardeners at Wembury House shows seven gardeners posed with a

variety of gardening equipment. This is only a small staff, but equates with several
gardens in Devon. An estimate of the staff needed to maintain part of Powderham
garden in 1860 (the rest was leased to a tenant), suggested that the minimum staff
required would be a head gardener, three men, two women and a boy. 94 Maristow had a
staff of five men, one boy and a head gardener in 1874, but also regularly employed
additional labourers as necessary. 95 Saltram's garden staff consisted of nine in 1822,

and Escot had ten gardeners in 1878 including one woman.

A comparison with gardens in other counties shows that in the region, estates such as

Pentillie in Cornwall employed similar numbers to those in Devon. Pentillie had a staff

of seven gardeners and two boys in addition to garden labourers. 97 However, larger
gardens further afield such as Enville Hall in Staffordshire had a staff of twelve men in
1 827 in addition to the head gardener. This number increased to eighteen in summer
1842, including one woman, and to twenty-two by 1900 98 Ashburnham in Sussex
employed a total of eleven gardeners split between the pleasure grounds, kitchen
grounds and the 'House'. None of the gardeners in the glasshouses worked in either of
the other departments. As at Saltram and Powderham in Devon, each area was

accounted for separately.

The head gardener had to staff a garden even when an estate fell on hard times and was
losing money. A copy letter from William Rowley of Kingweston Gardens in Somerset,
to the land agent Mr Hippisley, dated January 24 1898, complained:

As to reduce the garden staff you ask me about, I can assure you I have not staff
sufficient to keep the garden decent now, and if you take off the labour the work
cannot be done you know the Gardens are large, the pleasure grounds large. I am
doing it with only 3 men and 2 boys and myself, the staff has been cut down year
by year to this. When I came here in 1874, 1 had 8 men and a boy the garden
expenses in that year were £341-13-0 now they are gone back to £200 - this will
give you some idea of the cut down I have had from year to year. If you do

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

169

anything more you must shut up some of the Gardens and part of the Pleasure
Grounds, and let it run to ruin, there is no other way, and now vou are selling the
spare vegetables, there is no waste. I can't tell you any more. 10

In smaller gardens where just a working head gardener was employed, additional labour
was recruited on a regular basis. The Bishop of Exeter's gardener, Joseph Beer,
employed extra labour at two shillings a day, usually in the summer months,
presumably to help with mowing and watering, but in 1868 extra help was also paid for
in October and November, although no reason was specified. 101

Managing Finances

With authority of being a manager, trusted by the owner, a head gardener was usually
in charge of hiring and dismissing staff and frequently of handling quite large sums of
money. William Seaward at Creedy Park gardens handled a budget of up to £350 per
year for wages and garden supplies. Some, like Mr Lock, had the authority to
purchase rare plants. In 1883, Lock, gardener to Mr Cleave at Crediton, spent sixteen
guineas on just three plants at a sale of rare plants in Exeter. The most expensive item
was an 'Erica marnockiana' , which he bought for seven guineas (£7.7s), the equivalent
of a month's salary. The plants had regularly won prizes at horticultural shows during

and were well known among

county. 103 It was probably hoped that the same plants would provide prizes for their new

owner and, if propagated, could be sold to help offset the cost of their purchase.

It was also the responsibility of the head gardener to order all materials and equipment

needed to ensure the smooth running of the gardens. This included plants and seeds
from local nurseries, coal for the boilers, tan and bark for hotbeds, manures and tools.
He also supervised the maintenance of the garden structures. 104 David Smith, head
gardener at Saltram for thirty-five years was responsible for paying bills which far
exceeded his salary. (He was paid £50 a year plus £11 for the keep of a horse). In 1820
these garden bills amounted to £668.12s.5d, approximately ten times his annual
income. 105 Every penny had to be accounted for as all garden books were audited by the
agent John Yolland. Smith kept separate accounts for the flower and kitchen gardens,
apportioning work and costs between the two areas (see Figure 4:5 below).

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

170

Head gardeners attended sales where it was possible to purchase a bargain, William
Sharpe at Stevenstone purchased a second-hand greenhouse from a sale at Beaford
Rectory. However, in the same year he also bought a new forcing house from Boulton
and Paul The former cost £8.2s.9d, the latter £45.9s, plus an additional £52.16s.l0d for
the hot water pipes and fittings. 106

Figure 4:5. Page from David Smith's Kitchen Garden Account at Saltram 1822

ftfa

- Z3

" /i±+J£« fait* £p u^fc

/s-j,

Source: PWDRO 69/M/7/28.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

171

With a garden staff to run the garden in his absence, a superintendent was able to attend
shows and exhibitions, visit colleagues in other gardens and form good relationships
with local nurserymen. William Sharpe of Stevenstone was paid his expenses for visits
to a Barnstaple nursery; Herman Saunders spent three days in Exeter in November 1 83 1
'selecting plants' for a planned new garden and Samuel Taylor went to London to visit
nurserymen there. 107 Gardeners shared expertise and swapped plants and seeds. They
donated plants to cottagers and allotment holders, 'I always make it a rule to impress on
my employers the good, and even the necessity, of giving and exchanging plants with
my neighbours*. 108 Sharing plants and seeds saved the necessity of purchasing
expensive stock from nurserymen.

When it came to purchase of seeds, plants and equipment, head gardeners dealt direct
with nurserymen, sometimes having one or two favourites, sometimes using a variety,
both locally and nationally. Veitch, Lucombe and Pince from Exeter, Rendles and
Ponteys of Plymouth were generally favoured by large estates, not only for Devon, but

also for many Cornish gardens. Specialist nurseries and seedsmen were also used such
as Suttons for seeds, or Beck and Allan for trees. 109 Trees were often bought from
further afield, the warm climate of Devon encouraging trees to establish themselves
well if bought from a colder area. For example, Saltram bought larch, silver fir, oak and
ash trees from William Wiseman of Forres in Scotland, shipping them down by rail. 110

Managing Records

The gardener, to understand his business well, and to be capable of undertaking
the management of a gentleman's garden and grounds, should not only be perfect
in the ordinary business, and the regular routine of digging, cropping, and
managing a kitchen garden, but should be also well versed in the nature of soils,
manures, and composts, the best methods of propagating plants, shrubs, and
trees, the management of the hothouse, greenhouse, conservatory, hotbeds; and
the culture, not only of indigenous, but also of foreign and exotic productions. 1 1 1

The variety of plants grown on one estate is illustrated by a table which listed flowers

and vegetables sent from the kitchen gardens at Bicton by James Barnes, into the house,
under headings 'For Preserving', 'For the Table' 'For Servants', 'For Pickling'. The list
includes eight salad varieties, twenty varieties of fruit including three of pineapple,

twenty varieties of vegetable and sixteen of herbs (see Figure 4:6). 112 Barnes had been

angered by the waste in the kitchens, and was afraid he would get the blame, so
produced weekly lists of items dispatched from the garden. Vegetables included daily

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

172

and potatoes, root and salad crops. Servants had their own

presumably of second quality

Plants and

flowers were supplied to decorate the house. Ice was listed, although not supplied in the
week recorded below. This list suggests that ftesh fruit, vegetables and salad items were
harvested daily, including Sundays.

kitchens

VegttmbU, Fh*i 9 and Flower Lk^Jbr tie Wwk ending Saturday SepL 95. 1849.

•_

S*p4. 19

roomt - dlsbl
French Bin
Warwick I

Early Krrnu
long Pod Beans
Windsor B*ai
Cauliflowers-
Artichokes -

Cam Broccoli

«gt)
Greens or Col
Turnip*

Carrot* •
Potatoes

Vegetable Marrow*

SiWer Beet -

Cucumber* for Sum
log . - dlth

Peas - -
Lettuce
Endive
Bed Cabbage

Whit* Celery
Tomatoes -

Hofesredish - dlab
Onion* • . 111!

Shallots • •
ImU . - .11

Garlic ...

Parsley, Curled, buo.| 1 ] 1

Sweet Maijoram -

Sweet Basil •

Fennel -

Tarragon - •
Green Mint -
Chervil

8onrtl •
Winter Savory
CbWet .

Pennyroyal • •

SaUd fir Strvmnts.

Cucumbers - dkhll
Lettuce - - 1 1
Radices .

99 841

Gherkin Cucumber*
Onions, slher-ekin-

nad • • pack
Red Cabbage dot.
Capstan
OnUiaa

Green Tomatoes doe.

Rip* Tomato** for
Sauna

Cut Flowers, basked 1

ill

Sept

DabUaa . dox.
Magnolia Flowers •
PUntt for baakttt In"
front hall -

900

ami mjbr Tank.

Cucumbers * dlabl 1
Lettuce
RadUbaa .
Celery.
Endive
Red Beet .
Mostard and Cress
American Cress -

JFor £Vtanvwfw
Orange Flowers qU

Magnolia Flow. doa.
Fig* - .doa.
Grapaa . basketl
Guam Fruit • doa.1
Damaoos • at.

; A pples for Jell y, bush.

XUcMen Fmi.

Apple*- • pack
Waste Peaches -
Plums - - qt
Cherries . lb.
Currants •
Raspberries •
Ptars for staving da.
Applaa for roasting

2utfr JH*.

Piaa-applta

Brown Sugar-loaf
Queen - .

Otabeke . -
Cfcm rtvoUta . 1 9
Mnea CavtndSsbit

Guar* Fruit •

Black Hamburg

Grapes - lb.ll 1 1

8wcatwatcr t Dutch 1 1

aerator Ale
Ptacbea, Malta

Fig. . -
Cherries

Keen 1 * saadL Straw
berries .

Red Currants
Whit* ditto -
Apples •

Peer* . . .
Walnuts

Melon* . -

Iroperatrice Plums
lea

James

GM 19

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

173

Loudon admired this comprehensive list and not only printed it

Magazine but also in Self-Instruction for Young Gardeners and
young gardeners adopt a similar style of record-keeping. 113 He notec

It will be observed that the gardens at Bicton are on a very large scale: and
consequently few gardens will need so extensive a Kitchen-Book as that i

example is extracted: it is, however, always useful

house, as

Gardener is sometimes blamed for the non-productiveness of his department,
while the fault, in fact, lies in the wastefulness or carelessness of the cook, or

other nerson beloneine to the establishment.

In the above comments Loudon effectively warned young gardeners about the rivalries
they might find existing between different departments on large estates, particularly
between those who worked indoors and those who worked outside. This was especially
true of the rivalries between kitchen staff and kitchen garden staff, in particular over
how vegetables should be presented by the gardeners to the kitchen:

part of their [kitchen domestics] duty to be topping and tailing

and tailed in the carden shed, and

rubbish disposed of summan
brought out again. 115

The Gardener 9 s Magazine recommended that when produce was sent to the kitchen
that it 'ought to look as clean and bright as if prepared for the exhibition table'. 116

Records were needed to itemise costs and receipts, inventories of tools, orders to
tradesmen and sowing and harvesting information. Other important records that were
kept by the head gardener included keeping the wages book. These were records of each

person's work. Some were very comprehensive and outline who was working where.
Others were very simple with columns for the workmen the number of days they had
worked and how much they were paid by the day. 118 Where comprehensive records
remain, such as at Endsleigh, it is possible not only to identify those who worked in the
garden, but also the foremen. As has been seen they were paid a few pence more than

the rest of the men. It is rare that the head gardener's name is recorded unless he signed
the accounts.

Many gardens were fully or partially self-supporting units. Surplus produce was sold to
local people and at nearby markets. From 1819 to 1822 Thomas Smiles, the kitchen
gardener at Powderham, kept a record of the produce sold. This included fruit,

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener 1 74

vegetables and potted plants such as geraniums, camellias, jasmine, heaths,
rhododendrons and violets. In August 1821, over a series of 103 transactions, he sold
produce worth £39.13s.9d. December was the quietest month where sales were only 1 Is

amounted to £116.9s.l0d; more than

ilary

119

variety

fruit, vegetables and flowers that were being grown and marketed which included
named varieties of fruit which were grown for dessert, for cooking and for keeping;
apples were also used to make cider. 120 Produce was taken from Powderham to the
market at Exeter up to three times a week.

Gardens near Plymouth sold their produce at Dock market. Gardener's wives from
Kitley and Maristow were paid up to one shilling a day to attend the market to sell

produce paying a standing charge which not only covered their 'stall', but was also the

equivalent of car-parking for a horse. In 1854, fruit was also sold direct from Kitley
to Mrs Briggs, Mrs Burgoyne and Mrs Cowley, all fruiterers at Plymouth. This included
gooseberries, black and red currants, apples, peaches, nectarines, Rodney plums,
Moorfowl egg pears, cucumbers and small melons. 122 Wiscombe Park at Southleigh
sold potatoes, gooseberries, strawberries, currants, raspberries, mangold, apples and the
grass off the pleasure ground in 1879 raising £5.8s.l0d in the period from July to
November. The following year they also sold apples and peaches to a Mrs Carter. 123

In 1820 celery and horseradish were sold by sticks, potatoes and beans by pecks or
bags, beetroot by the dozen, spinach and greens by the basket. Onions and seakale by
weight, broccoli by the dozen, apples by the hundred and 'small' fruits, strawberries,
gooseberries and raspberries in pints or quarts. 124 Nurserymen's invoices show the
variety of seeds and plants that were purchased for kitchen gardens.

Produce was not only supplied to the kitchen, but also to the family when residing at
their other homes. Sir Charles Cave built Sidbury Manor as a summer home, but the

family was only in occupation for about three months of the year. However, when they

were at Stoneleigh, Clifton, another of his homes, produce was despatched from
Sidbury Manor's kitchen garden by John Reynolds, the head gardener, twice a week.
This would probably have included cut flowers from the extensive range of
glasshouses. 125 As seen above, partially for their own protection, most head gardeners
kept a record of what was dispatched and when.

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

175

The Competitive World of the Head Gardener - Trialling Plants

If a head gardener settled in one position for a long time, there was the opportunity to
concentrate on plant breeding and hybridisation. This was part of the process of
scientific enquiry, but also an endeavour to improve plants for exhibition. As this was a
long-term process it needed several years in a settled environment for experiments to be
made and results written up. Frequently when new varieties were developed they were
sold to nurserymen who would go on to propagate them commercially.

Head gardeners were responsible for trialling new varieties of plants either on behalf of
nurserymen, or to improve a collection of one particular variety, by improving its
hardiness, colour or usefulness. Plants and seeds arrived from abroad, some named,
others numbered, with no more than brief notes as to the soil conditions they were
found in. These were then grown under controlled conditions. Some were considered of
'little value' others 'nondescript'. Those judged to be of value or of interest to growers
or botanists were then sent to Kew for further trials. 126 An owner could gain great kudos
if plants were developed in their garden especially if they won prizes at horticultural
shows. Some prizes were noted in The Times as when James Barnes won a silver
Horticultural Society Award for alstromerias grown at Bicton. 127 Naming plants after an
owner or property showed the importance of a garden and kept it in public focus, for
example, when Barnes developed a white strawberry, it was named the Bicton Pine.
This was later sold by Lady Louisa Rolle to the Exotic Nursery in London in exchange

for plants for her collection of exotics at Bicton, and when marketed by the nursery, it

became a best seller. She also sold to Veitch, for £100, the winter flowering shrub
Colletia bictonensis raised by Barnes.

Gardeners such as Barnes used their observations of what happened in nature to

formulate ideas for use in the garden:

...we have only to go to any common, where the native heath grows for an
example. They do not have soil sifted for them; they do not have all the stones
picked out of the earth to make them grow: no; they grow amongst the stones
and vegetation continually springing up round them; and decay with the season,
with their roots about them to nourish them. 129

One of his experiments, widely publicised, involved ripening pineapples in the open air.
This had a double benefit when it was proved possible, in that it increased knowledge of

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

176

the tolerance of pineapple plants, but also enabled 'a fruiting house to be cleared in
May, and immediately converted into a succession house, instead of remaining full of
fruiting plants until August'. 130 Barnes also took part in experiments, supervised by the
Royal Horticultural Society, to prove that the potato blight could be perpetuated through
seed potatoes which themselves had been affected by the blight 131 These experiments
were written up in horticultural journals both in Britain and America as people were
eager to learn the latest scientific advances. Lady Rolle, who was a fellow of the
Royal Horticultural Society, encouraged experimentation. She was sufficiently
interested in the garden at Bicton to bid for rare exotics in the RHS annual auctions. 133

The press reported on unusual plants raised by gardeners for their owners, for example:

There is now growing in the green-house of Mrs Wells, Cowley House, a
beautiful specimen of the Musa Cavendishii commonly called the Bread-fruit
Tree 1 X A feet, 100 pips as fruit. This benevolent lady's hot-houses boast many
other rare exotics, all of which evince highly the ability, great care and vigilant
superintendence of Mr John Yole the gardener. 134

At Saltram, in 1802, the American aloes aroused the interest of the Exeter Flying Post.
In August the newspaper reported on the rarity of these plants blooming, claiming only
two had flowered in the previous century and alerting 'the curious in botany' to the fact
that two of the plants were due to flower that year. The publicity was such that, 'the
gardens [at Saltram] are constantly crowded this fine weather, with spectators, to view
this rare phenomenon in the vegetable world'. 135 A constant steam of visitors offering
tips for the privilege of visiting the plants, helped swell the gardener's income.

Competition at Horticultural shows

One area of influence for the head gardener was through horticultural societies. The
Devon and Exeter Horticultural and Botanical Society with Lord Clifford as its first
President, was launched in 1829 to establish a society for the 'promotion and
encouragement of useful and ornamental horticulture' with, initially, two shows a
year. 136 These societies were firstly aimed at the wealthy, but gradually as more and
more societies came into being, there was a horticultural show for everybody, the
commercial grower, the hobbyist, the nurseryman, the amateur, and classes too for
cottage gardeners and allotment holders. By the end of the nineteenth century there was

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

177

a horticultural or cottage garden society in virtually every parish in Devon which
catered for all classes of gardener from working gardeners to working class amateurs.

Theoretically, membership of the county societies was open to head gardeners and
owners as well as amateur gardeners, but the subscription fee of one guinea would have
proved prohibitive to most journeymen. However, in 1883 the committee of the Devon
and Exeter Society met with a deputation of gardeners who had requested a reduction of
fees for working men. It was agreed, not only that there should be three levels of
subscriptions, '5s., 10s 6d., and 21s., with proportionate advantages', but also that 'the

annual subscription of 5s. do qualify a practical gardener for the committee'. 137 The
resultant committee consisted of nine 'working gardeners', listed by surname only, three
proprietors of Exeter nurseries, obviously considered to be a cut above working

gardeners and a mix of local gentlemen. 138 The 'working gardeners', all head gardeners,

have been identified as [Thomas] Bartlett, Knightleys, Exeter St David; [George] Coles,
gardener to James Lawless, Exeter; [William] Craggs, Winslade, Clyst St Mary;
[James] Enstone, Wear House, Topsham; [Frederick] Geeson, Haldon House, Exeter,
[George] Lock, Newcombes, Crediton; [David] Powell, Powderham Castle; [Walter]
Rowland, Parkerswell, Exeter and [George] Underdown, Escot, Talaton.

In Devon, initially, gardeners were rewarded with prizes and credited with the work
needed to bring items up to show standards. For example, Herman Saunders won a total

of four guineas at the second exhibition of the Devon and Exeter Horticultural and
Botanical Society show in 1829. 139 Richard Saunders, (Luscombe), Mr Nicholls
(Winslade), Mr Reid (Montrath House), Mr Craggs, (Killerton), and many others were
also acknowledged for winning prizes at one of the early shows. 140 However, by 1846,
increasingly it was the owner who was awarded the prizes and accolade of winning,
although, in some cases, 'a Premium [was] added for the Gardener, as a testimonial of
unusual skill displayed in its cultivation.' 141

The horticultural show was the culmination of the gardening year. This created an

opportunity for gardeners to demonstrate expertise to gardening colleagues and potential

employers. Shows and exhibitions were meeting places, not only of local and regional

men, but in the case of the national shows of head gardeners from around the country.
Head gardeners also had the opportunity to demonstrate floral decoration skills:

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

178

and

plants from the gardens of Mr Cleave, Sir John Shelley, Sir H. F. Davie, and
Colonel Sir Redvers Buller, which were the theme of general admiration.

The judges on this occasion were Mr Teed, gardener to Mrs Ensor of Exeter, Mr
Luxton, from Lucombe and Pince's nurseries, Exeter, Mr Lock, head gardener to Mr
Cleave and Mr Bull, head gardener to Sir Redvers Buller. 142 Some owners paid the fares
of gardeners to attend shows and the fact that the glory was reflected onto the owner is
demonstrated in how the shows were written up in the local press.

Although journeymen were not members of the horticultural societies, they were
encouraged to attend exhibitions and the Escot account also records payment for
admission to the Agricultural Exhibition of one shilling each for six garden men in May
1878. 143 They would certainly have had a vested interest in exhibitions as a

commentator on the Exeter Flower Show noted in 1891:

Few persons outside gardening circles have the least idea of the burning spirit of

emulation which possesses the souls of these gardeners who compete for the
"tall" prizes such as the silver cup given by Messrs. Veitch. Months of toil,
watchfiilness, and anxiety, years of painstaking effort and experience are brought
into play, and the contagious spirit of enthusiasm which makes a man fight for
victory are all at work in these inter-county competitions. 144

This also caused problems in that:

Much has been said respecting the laborious and responsible situation of
gardeners, compared with that of some other servants in a gentleman's family;
but what adds greatly to the pain, and, I may say, often constitutes the
degradation, of the gardener, is the practice of many of their employers, who are
members of these societies, who receive the prizes that are in reality gained by
their gardeners.

This was written by C A Complaining Gardener' who went on to maintain that many
head gardeners had actually purchased winning specimens, 4 at his own expense', 145
Unfortunately, he was correct in his assumptions as witnessed by a letter to The
Devonport Independent published by Mr J. Williams, as a warning to others to shun so
detestable an example:

I am under the painful necessity of informing you that I have discovered that all
the Prizes obtained by my Gardener for articles produced at the last Horticultural
meeting at Plymouth, as coming from my garden, were not so; viz the
Strawberries and Cherries, but that he purchased them before he went to the
meeting. It has only come to my knowledge very lately, and I have discharged

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

179

him from my employ. By way of encouragement I have always given him the
™~ — ™* thinking he would act in this manner 146

In June 1863 John Tidball of Escot was paid his expenses [5s Od] to go to the Devon
and Exeter Botanical and Horticultual Society exhibition in Exeter as were his two
under-gardeners Ireland and Solomon Baker [2s 6d each]. Overtime payments paid to
the men at the end of May suggest they were attending as exhibitors as well as
spectators. 147 Although the head gardener or the owner would have been the person

officially competing the reputation of the whole garden staff would have been at stake.

Those men who became too successful at winning prizes, were frequently asked to
become judges, not only at the prestigious Devon and Exeter Horticultural Society
exhibitions, but also at the smaller cottage garden and allotment society events. Their

names appeared year after year in local newspaper reports and, as a result, they became

as well known locally as their masters. Robert Cleall of Nutwell Court regularly judged
at shows from September 1846 to 1881, John Garland of Killerton was a judge for over
thirty years from 1862 to 1893 and Henry Beddard of Streatham Court, who came to
Devon from Enville Hall in Staffordshire, was a judge from June 1869 to August 1879,

the length of time he spent in the county. Philip Lang was a judge for at least twelve
years and James Enstone, Gardener at Weir House, for almost twenty years. They were
not just judges, but advisors too. They encouraged cottage gardeners and allotment
holders to grow a wider selection of produce, donating seeds and wisdom in equal

measures.

Competition for prizes in shows led to innovation and improvement of plants and
equipment and led to a tendency to produce the largest, although not necessarily the
tastiest of produce. These items were frequently displayed in windows of nurserymen as
advertisements for their stock and were often reported in the local newspapers. For
example:

Six splendid peaches were exhibited last week in the window of Messrs Veitch,
High Street Exeter, which were grown by Mr Hitt, gardener to Mark Kennaway
Esq., and which weighed no less than twelve ounces each. 148

A single potatoe [sic] planted and managed by the gardener of James Winter
Esq., of Stoke has this season produced the astonishing crop of 151 potatoes, the
whole weighing 34 lbs. 149

Chapter Four. The Perfect Gardener

180

Mr Mogridge, seedsman has now in his possession a very extraordinary
cabbage, grown this summer by Samuel Moore, gardener of New Invent
Dulverton. It weighs 56 lbs: the leaf is three feet one inch in length. 150

Even head gardeners of prestigious gardens were not immune to the race to provide the
largest fruit and vegetables.

Monster Pine Apples - Mr Barnes, Gardener to Lady Rolle, at Bicton, some tin
since forwarded three magnificent Queen Pine Apples, weighing 20 pounds
ounces, to the Horticultural Exhibition at Paris. 151

Horticultural shows demonstrated the breadth of a gardener's abilities. They were an
opportunity for head gardeners and owners to display rare plants, for example the cacti
from Real del Monto or the Manito tree shown at the North Devon Horticultural Society
in Barnstaple in 1838. 152

Communication Between Gardeners

Throughout the nineteenth century a growing number of gardening journals, books and
pamphlets were printed. 153 All were designed to educate and inform. Encouraged by a
demand for knowledge, the market was flooded with horticultural books, some with
titles so long there was no doubting the content. 154 These wordy books gave practical
and theoretical advice to their readers and whetted their appetites for the new, unusual
and spectacular plants described within.

Gardening could be a lonely occupation and horticultural magazines and journals gave
professional gardeners an opportunity to share information, knowledge, experience and
ideas with each other through letters of advice and articles about their own particular
interests. Editors passed on news of the latest plant imports, the newest techniques and
inventions; nurseries advertised their wares. Correspondents commented on gardens
superintended by their colleagues and publicised their own gardens. 155 Gardening
journals gave the opportunity to offer services, or find a new position through the
'situations wanted' columns. 156

Through their writings gardeners had the opportunity to influence fashion and taste.
Joan Morgan and Alison Richards record the achievements of some of these men,
especially those who specialised in fruit and vegetable growing. 157 They note that:

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

181

...food connoisseurship was fast becoming one of the hallmarks of sophisticated
society driven in part by head gardeners who extended the growing season to
ensure herbs and fresh vegetables were always to hand, and rarities such as
pineapples, melons and grapes were readily available. 158

In their letters, head gardeners not only gave advice on how to grow produce, but also
how to use it in the kitchen with recipes which varied from a tomato sauce for cold meat
or how to make quince jam.

159

Loudon solicited articles for the Gardener's Magazine, both by general appeals 'to

botanic ear dens, and

collections' or through specific requests to individuals. 160 In Devon Robert Reid of
Montrath House, John Nash of Arlington, Glendinning and Barnes of Bicton, Richard
Saunders of Luscombe Castle and Herman Saunders of Kitley were just some of the
gardeners who responded. 161 Devon gardeners, after all, had the advantage of a good

climate for growing exotics in the open ground. They were, therefore, able to write
knowledgeably about plants that gardeners elsewhere had difficulty in growing. 162
Richard Saunders, for example, contributed a detailed article listing over thirty 'exotics'
which he grew in the open at Luscombe Castle in Dawlish. These included camellias
which were thought to be tender, but which did well under his regime of keeping their

roots warm. 163

Letters and articles to the gardening press helped ensure that regional head gardeners
became known to a wider audience than that gained through attendance at local
horticultural shows. Editors re-printed articles from other journals and newspapers and,
in turn, regional newspapers such as the Exeter Flying Post borrowed quotations, or
complete articles, which were contributed by Devon gardeners or featured Devon
gardens. 164 As horticultural journals such as the Gardener's Magazine and Gardener's
Chronicle were aimed at a readership of garden owners as well as the working gardener,
this was an added incentive for the gardener to acquire a knowledgeable and
professional background.

In his study of head gardeners Toby Musgrave used garden journals to research some of
the better known men in Britain, mostly notably Joseph Paxton, brothers, David Taylor
and Robert Fish, and John Fleming, all of whom had contributed regularly to the
gardening press. 165 However, he ignores the lesser known head gardeners except to

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

182

mention, briefly, that urbanisation provided openings 'for different kinds of
headship'. 166 His chapter on James Barnes is based on articles contributed throughout
his lifetime, including a series of letters published in the Gardener 's Magazine during

167

the years 1842 and 1843, which followed a visit to Bicton of the editor John Loudon.
Garden writers and influential designers were responsible for the spread of knowledge
to working gardeners and garden owners. James Burge, gardener to the Reverend
Richard Lane at Coffleet, Brixton, sent, 'a recipe for composing a Liquid for effectually
destroying Caterpillars, Ants, Worms, and other Insects' to the very first Gardener's
Magazine' in 1826. Another contributor to this edition was Herman Saunders of Kitley
who wrote, 'some account of the Kitley Shaddock'. 168 Loudon knew many garden
writers personally through the tours he made around the country. Horticultural journals
gave a forum for crusaders for better wages, working and living conditions.

Not all advice was given in serious mode though as the quote below demonstrates
Sometimes humour helped make a point, especially in the matter of health and safety:

The Intricacies of a Wheelbarrow. If you have occasion to use a wheelbarrow,
leave it, when you are through with it, in front of the house with the handles
toward the door. A wheelbarrow is the most complicated thing to fall over on the
face of the earth. A man will fall over one when he would never think of falling
over anything else. He never knows when he has got through falling over it,
either; for it will tangle his legs and his arms, turn over with him and rear up in
front of him, and just as he pauses in his profanity to congratulate himself, il
takes a new turn, and scoops more skin off of him, and he commences to evolute
anew, and bump himself on fresh places. A man never ceases to fall over s
wheelbarrow until it turns completely on its back, or brings up against something
it cannot upset. It is the most inoffensive-looking object there is, but it is more
dangerous than a locomotive, and no man is secure with one unless he has a tigh
hold of its handles, and is sitting down on something. A wheelbarrow has it:
uses, without doubt, but in its leisure moments it is the great blighting curse oi
true dignity. 169

Barnes' own accessible style of writing, made it possible for other gardeners to identify
with his experiences and allowed him to pass on knowledge through his letters. He used

his background as a youngster learning his trade to full advantage as an adult in charge
of his own garden at Bicton, even when apparently keeping up the appearance of
conforming to traditional practices, which many other head gardeners must have done
as well. For example:

The first time the thought occurred to me of using rough soil was when I was
about eleven years old. I went with my father one morning, at five o'clock, to

Chapter Four. The Perfect Gardener

183

where there were some heaps of mould of different sorts, to assist him to chop it
down, and fill the sieves. I remember as well the very spot, and what passed, as
if it had happened this day; for I got very hungry towards eight o'clock, and
fancied breakfast-time would never come. I asked my father if the mound would
not do to grow cucumbers in if we were to chop it down, and knock it to pieces
with the back of the spade, and pick out the stones. He asked me how I could
think of such a thing; and told me to make haste and fill the sieve, or the job
would not be finished by breakfast-time: and it was more than half-past eight
before it was, and my basin of bread and milk was nearly cold when I got home.
However, in time, I kept thinking I would try if plants would not grow in mould
without sifting. I begged a cucumber plant of my father, made a bed of any
rubbish I could get, put a quantity of earth, rough as it was, for them to grow in,
and succeeded in getting a famous crop, and sold enough to buy myself a new
hat. However, no more notice was taken of it. We continued to sift mould for
every thing except melons, both at home and wherever I worked as journeyman:
but I always kept thinking, if ever I should be a master myself, I would see if
things would not grow without the earth being sifted; and I have since many
times been ridiculed for using it in such a rough state, but I passed it off by
saying I had not time to sift it. 70

It was felt to be important to pass on knowledge and gardeners such as John Garland at
Killerton, Alfred George at Bicton, William Pearson at Castle Hill and David Powell at
Powderham had the opportunity to train young gardeners and the satisfaction of
knowing that many of them went on to become head gardeners themselves. Head
gardeners William Gillies at Stevenstone, Alfred Johnston at Knightshayes and Thomas

Sharpham, trained at Powderham, Castle Hill and

171

When Alfred George left Bicton after eleven years as head gardener, he joined Devon
County Council as a lecturer. He was also a regular speaker with the Gardeners' Mutual
Improvement Association and continued to pass on his knowledge to younger

172

gardeners.

Fathers and Sons - Succession

In some respects, the garden was a class-less society in that it was possible for a
determined man to go from being little more than an agricultural labourer to the top of
his profession and straight into the middle class. Although this was harder towards the
end of the nineteenth century, it was still possible. If, as Loudon suggested, a gardener
was of higher status than an agricultural labourer, then almost fifty per-cent of gardeners
on the database where their fathers occupation is known (1,041 or just over fourteen
per-cent of the total) started with an advantage in that their fathers were also gardeners.
Twenty one per cent (451) came from a labouring class background and seven per cent

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

184

from a trade background (see Figure 4:7). However, at least 2.2 per cent (54) came from

farm bailiffs, members of the police and

number

occupations reflect the occupations in Devon with parents as fishermen, farmers, in the
navy or working at the dockyard, miners and railway workers.

173

Figure 4:7. Fathers' professions in percentages for all gardeners where know

Source: Gardener Database.

Of the head gardeners listed on the database, the parents' occupation has only been
identified for about seventeen per cent of the total (109 men). Forty per cent of these
were gardeners, fifteen of whom were head gardeners themselves. However, while not
being a direct comparison, there was a higher percentage of farmer's sons than for all
the gardeners, 9.2 per cent as opposed to 3.1 per cent and a higher number from a trade
background (see Figures 4.7 and 4.8). Sons of gardeners might have come from more

than one generation of gardeners, for example, Elias Dawe, a head gardener at Pitt
House, llennock followed in his father's footsteps. John Dawe had been gardener and

bailiff at Pitt House for the Buck family since 1861. His father, Elias' grandfather,
another Elias, was a gardener at Plympton St Mary until his death in 1861. Just over
twenty-one per cent of head gardeners (twenty-three) came from backgrounds where
their parents were agricultural labourers; the remainder included carpenters, masons,
shoemakers and a blacksmith. Five head gardeners came from a professional
background.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

185

re 4.8. Fathers' professions in percentages of head gardeners where known

Source: Gardener Database

Of the full number of head gardeners at least twenty-six had began their working life as

a farm or agricultural labourer. Not all became top class gardeners, or worked in the
most prestigious of gardens, although Robert Cawse worked at Kitley and Flete, Henry
Dunn, whose father was a thatcher, was head at Sharpham in 1891 and John Eames at
Powderham in 1871 . John Simmons began his garden work at Eggesford with the then,
head gardener Frederick Geary who was his cousin, but left the county to become a
head gardener at Eastbourne. All reached the top of their profession, despite their lowly
background and the fact that they all started work as farm or agricultural labourers.
James Barrow worked first as an agricultural servant, then a general servant. By the
time the 1901 census was taken he, aged 53, had changed his profession to 'gardener'
and boarded at St George's Street in Exeter, having been made head gardener to the
Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, a position he held until his retirement. 174

If a father was also a head gardener, there was far more chance of success. Reuben
Cavil 1, whose own father had been an agricultural labourer had worked as head gardener
at Woodcot, Pamflete and Gnaton Hall. His son Frederick, after training in Yorkshire,
eventually became head at Flete. Eli and Robert Underdown, sons of George at Escot,
became heads of Pynes and Colhayes House respectively. William Craggs was son of
George Craggs, head at Weir House, Topsham. He became head gardener at Killerton,

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

186

and James Griffin, head at Cowley House, started work with his father who was head at

William

Edmunds at Moreton House, Bideford, within the same garden as
headship from father.

Loudon maintained the penultimate attainment for gardeners was the superintendence of
a public botanic garden, where it was necessary to maintain a correspondence with other
botanic curators, to exchange plants, seeds or dried specimens in order to increase a
collection. The highest attainment however in his eyes was to become a royal, court or
government gardener, 'the summum bonum of garden servitude, with a similar position
if held in France, Germany or Italy'. 175 There are however, no records found so far to
indicate that a Devon gardener reached these heights.

Summary

More than half of the success of gardening springs from doing everything at the
right time. The other half comes of doing things in a proper manner, and placing
things in the best places. 176

The role of a head gardener changed radically throughout the nineteenth century. On
estates with discrete departments with their own foremen and staff, the professional
head gardeners superintended an increasingly professional staff. Changes of personnel
were normal on large estates. The head gardener could move men around his own
garden or send them elsewhere. Although the status, working conditions and salary
improved throughout the century, head gardeners continued to lack the income that
other men in supervisory roles could attain. However, as a superintendent of a large
garden there were plenty of opportunities to enhance their basic salary and many head
gardeners became wealthy as a result of the rise through their profession.

Social mobility for a head gardener was limited by the number of prestigious gardens.
As has been seen, once in a settled position many gardeners did not move again for
many years. This had the result of blocking the promotion of some young gardeners and
hence was another reason why they needed to move out of the county to find work.
Once at the top of their profession, there were few opportunities for advancement other
than a move to a more prestigious garden. However, skills gained in domestic gardens

Chapter Four. The Perfect Gardener

187

could be put to use as proprietors of a market garden, a nursery or to become a
superintendent of a park, cemetery or botanic garden.

The position of a head gardener was frequently not just a job, but a way of life. Their
loyalty was probably to the garden first, owner second. As they lived on site, they saw
'their' garden every day, in every season, through all weathers. Once settled, many
remained in a garden for the rest of their lives or until they retired, taking the
opportunity to become known as plant breeders, judges or correspondents. Within the
gardening community, head gardeners became celebrities of the day. Despite the
number of staff in a garden, the position of a head gardener could be a lonely one. There
were few people to talk to on equal terms. The owner kept his distance both literally and
metaphorically, especially if he or she was away from home a lot: the gardener was

removed from his staff by the authority of his position. Yet, some men built close
relationships with their employers, as has been seen where Mr James Lawless sold his
collection of rare exotics rather than find a replacement gardener for Mr Coles who had
fallen ill. 177 Correspondence in horticultural journals lessened the loneliness of
gardeners who worked without colleagues or who were isolated on estates. It also
encouraged competition and innovation. 4 A gentleman's gardener,' according to Mr S.
Heaton had to be 'an all-round man, and one that can undertake the management of any
branch of horticulture with credit to himself and satisfaction to his employers'. 178

A Member of the Aristocracy, The Duties of Servants: A Practical Guide to The Routine of Domestic
Service (London, 1899), 52-53.

2 Harold Perkin, The Rise of Professional Society: England Since 1880 (London & New York 1989), 3.

3 Gardener's Chronicle (GC) 21.11.1874, 656.

4 J. C. Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (London, 1822), 1322.

5 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1200.

6 Gardening World, 27.05.1899.

7 Exeter Flying Post (EFP) 21. \ 1 .1 867, 7f; Census Enumerators ' Returns (Census) PRO HO 107,
Sidmouth, 1851; PRO RG11 Poltimore, 1881 [CD].

8 James Barnes, 4 Letter XXI. System of Kitchen-Gardening continued. Culture of the Cabbage, Broccoli,
Peas, Beans, Onion, Carrot, Parsnep, and Spinach', Gardener's Magazine (GM) 19 (1843), 540-546, 542.

9 Anne Meredith relates the difficulties faced by the Women's Farm and Garden Association in finding
places for women gardeners. See Anne Meredith, 'Middle Class Women and Horticultural Education
1890-1939' unpublished thesis University of Sussex (2001), 215, 239; See also EFP 12.09.1891.

10 Census PRO RG13 Bignor, Sussex , Burstall, Suffolk, 1901.

11 Horticultural Directory (1870); Census PRO RG10, RGB Baildon, Yorkshire, 1871, Buckland
Monochorum, 1891.

12 DRO 961M/add E34; Kelly's Directory 1902.

13 The Garden 01.10.1892, 309; 02.12.1893, 525.

14 EFP 10.04.1845, 2g.

15 Jessica Gerard, Country House Life: Family and Servants 1815-1914 (Oxford, 1994), 180.

16 EFP 09.1 1.1889, 2f.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

188

17 EFP 22.10.1889.

18 EFP 7.03.1891, 7c.

19 The Times, 13.12.1869, Ud;EFP 15.12.1869, 5f.

20 GC 2.07.1887, 30, reported that Begbie, formerly of Ravensbury, was appointed to take charge of the
estate of Mrs Milns at West End, Sunninghill [Berks]; Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener 46
14.09.1871, 201-203; 21.09.1871, 221-223.

21 EFP 01.08.1877, 4a.

22 EFP 03.05.1871, 7f.

23 DRO 1260F/HA130.

24 William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon including the City of Exeter
(Sheffield and London, 1878-9); Census PRO RG12 Ilfracombe, 1891.

25 EFP 30.04.1898, 16.07.1898.

26 EFP 16.07.98.

27 EFP 25.05.1843.

28 Malcolm Dunn, 'The Relations Between Gardeners and Their Employers', Journal of the Royal
Horticultural Society (JRHS) 17 (1894), 89.

29 DRO 1508M/London/Family Household and Personal/10 Estimated cost of keeping the Gardens in
hand at Powderham Castle 1 February 1860. Labour allowed included 3 men, 2 women and 1 boy.

30 Clare Greener, 'Investigating the Role of the Devon Gardener', MA dissertation, University of Exeter,

2000, 50.

31 Somerset Record Office (SRO) DD\CM/37 Gardener's Book.

32 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1210.

33 SeeEFP 1 1 .09. 1 800; EFP 14.04.1803; EFP 9.06.1803. This was also a role undertaken by Alexander
Mackay at Maristow, 1 86 1 , Philip Lang at Poltimore, 1 87 1 and William Gullick at Kelly. See, Kelly 's
Directory (1883); Census PRO RG11 Kenn, 1881.

34 DRO961M/M/E34;£FP21.01.1885,7c.

35 GC 21.1 1.1874, 655.

36 PWDRO 874/3/2; DRO L1258M/V4/3; DRO 1 148M add/Special Accounts/Veitch.

37 S. Heaton, 'Gardeners - Past, Present, and Future', JRHS 20:1 (1 896), 40-52, 48-49.

38 When Ted Humphris started work in the garden on the Aynho estate in Northamptonshire, he was not
permitted to speak to the head gardener unless the head gardener spoke first, and always had to address

him as 'Sir'. See Ted Humphris, Garden Glory (London 1969), 36-39.

39 Henry Bright mentions that 'probably no one would be allowed to gather flowers, for fear of spoiling
the symmetry of the beds. See Henry A. Bright The English Flower Garden (London, 1881), 19. Arthur
Hooper, Life in the Gardeners ' Bothy (Suffolk, 2000), 9.

40 Duties of Servants, 53.

41 Samuel and Sarah Adams, The Complete Servant, 1825, ed. By Ann Haly paperback edn (Sussex,
1993), 167.

42 J. C. Loudon, The Suburban Gardener, and Villa Companion (London and Edinburgh, 1838), 533-534.

43 Census PRO RG11, Teignmouth, 1881.

44 Duties of Servants, 52-53.

45 See, for example, W.F.G. in The Gardener's Magazine 27.01.1872, 54.

46 Heaton, 'Gardeners', JRHS 20:1 (1896), 51.

47 Gerard, Country House, 1 63 .

48 See Census PRO RG11 Collipriest, Bickham, Flete, 1881.

49 Census PRO RG9-10 Fremington, 1861, 1871.
50 DRO316M/EA/20.

51 Robert Cridge was gardener to William Pike at Elm Grove House Dawlish, and Samuel Frost gardener
at Cambrian, Teignmouth; Census PRO RG10-1 1, Dawlish, 1871, Teignmouth 1881.

52 Census PRO HO 107, RG10-1 1 Devon, 1871, 1881.

53 Census PRO HO 107, RG9 Holbeton 1841, 1851, 1861.

54 EFP 14.05.1846.

55 J.C. Loudon, The Suburban Horticulturist (London, 1 842), 224.

56 EFP 6.12.1866, 5d.

57 A Common Sense Reforming Gardener, 'On the Evil Effects of a Head Gardener being lodged any
where else than in his Garden' in GM1 (1826), 135-6, 135.

58 Census PRO RG 1 0 Devon, 1871.

59 Clinton Devon Estate Archives, Uncatalogued letter from Lady Louisa Rolle to Mr Daw, postmarked
22 nd May 1 837.

60 Clinton Devon Estate Archives, Uncatalogued Office Copy Affidavit of Sir John J B Duckworth and Mr
Coldridge as to repairs of Gardeners Cottage and the Temple at Bicton.

Chapter Four The Perfect Gardener

189

61 ART. IX. Design for a Gardener's House, containing Five Rooms and an Office, adapted for being
connected with the Wall of a Kitchen-garden' in GMS (1832), 551-554.

62 GM5 (1831), 396-7.

63 Charles Mcintosh, The Book of the Garden Vol 1 Structural (Edinburgh and London, 1853), 49.

64 EFP 13.09.1871, 7f; 02.04.1873,1b.

65 Census PRO RG 1 3 Tamerton Foliot, 1901.

66 Archibald John Stephens, The Law of Nisi Pruis: Evidence in Civil Actions, and Arbitrations and

Awards Vol 3 (London, 1842), 2346.

67 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 376.

68 EFP 13.09.1871; 02.04.1873.

69 Kelly's DirectoryWtt; Census PRO RG13 Devon, 1901; EFP 27.08.1873.

70 NDRO 1 142B/EA68.
71 PWDRO 273/245.

72 DRO 1262M/L1241.

73 NDRO 1 142B/FP133 Mr John Oliver in account with Miss Arundel Yeo.

74 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 8.

75 DRO 96M/M/E34; Z19/20/36-37.

76 PWDRO 874/3/38-43; DRO 7140 (96M) North Devon Accounts 1869-1877 East Devon Rental and
Account 1887-1888.

77 PWDRO 74/375; DRO 867B/E8/1.

78 DRO 7 140 (96M) Henry Drew Account Book Bicton; North Devon Accounts 1869-1877.

79 DRO 7140 (96M) Bicton Rental and Account 1842, 1845, East Devon Rental and Account 188*7 1888,

1889; DRO Z19/20/36; NDRO B170 add 21/1.

80 NDRO B170 add 36/2.

81 DRO 7140 (96M) Rolle Estate North Devon Account 1869, 1875.

82 EFP 29.06.1895, 6d; 27.07.1895, 3e.

83 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 130.

84 PWDRO 874/2/2.

85 Catalogue of the Works Exhibited in The British Section of The Exhibition - Paris Universal Exhibition
(1855), 5.

86 £F.P 2.04.1898; 16.06.1894.

87 Duties of Servants, 53.

88 PWDRO 3610Z and add/ 1-2.

89 DRO L1258M/V4/4.

90 GM9 (1835), 51; Robert Glendinning, 'On the Culture of the Peach in the Open Air', GM 17 (1841),
63-72, 68.

91 Brent Elliott, The Country House Garden, 1 8: Census PRO HO 1 07 1 85 1 .

92 EFP 16.10.1845.

93 EFP 3.02.1875, 5d. [Reprint from Gardener's Chronicle]; EFP 23.12.1868, James Veitch received the

second prize for this plan.

94 DRO 1508M/London/Famly Household and Personal/10.

95 PWDRO 874/24/2.

96 PWDRO 69/M/7/28: DRO 961M/add E34.

97 Cornwall Record Office (CRO) CY/1093.

98 Enville Hall Archives garden labour books.

99 East Sussex Record Office ASH/2014; PWDRO 69/M/7/28.

100 SRO DD\DN/ 389 Copy of letter from W[illiam] Rowley to E. M. Hippisley.

101 DRO PR 514/39.

102 NDRO B 170 add/50.

103 EFP 26.09.1883, 5d.

104 PWDRO 69/M/7/27.

105 PWDRO 69/M/6/1 13.

106
107

DRO 7140 (96M) North Devon Accounts (1877).

DRO 7140 (96M) North Devon A ccounts ( 1 877); PWDRO 74/375; NDRO 1142B/FP 133
A Nobleman's Gardener, 'On the Conduct of Gardeners and their Employers with respect to giving
and exchanging Plants and Seeds', GM3 (1827), 291-2, 292.

109

DRO 7 140 (96M) North Devon Accounts (1 877); PWDRO 407/Files3/F Radcliffe
1,0 PWDRO 407/Files3/F Radcliffe; PWDRO 69/M/6/44/99.

Adams and Adams, Complete Servant, 167.

112 GM 18 (1842), 546.

113 See GM\% 557.

114 J. C. Loudon, Self Instruction for Young Gardeners (London, 1847), 54.

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

190

115 Gardener's Magazine, 25.05.1872, 257.
1,6 Gardener's Magazine, 25.05.1872, 257.

117 J. C. Loudon, The Horticulturist: or The Culture and Management of the Kitchen, Fruit and Forcing
Garden ed. by William Robinson (London & New York, 1871), 380.
PWDRO 69/M/6/155-156.

119 DRO 1508M/Account Books/V19; 1508M Devon/Estate/Account Books V4/F5.

120 DRO 1508M/Account Books/V19.

121 PWDRO 74/ uncatalogued garden book 1889-1890; PWDRO 874/3/19; DRO 316M/EA/20.

122 PWDRO 74/729.

123 DRO 337 add/364.

124 DRO 1508M/Account Books/V19.

125 The Gardening World 13 (1897), 377-378.

126 Hooper, Gardeners ' Bothy, 129.

127 The Times 06.07. 1 840, 1 1 a.

128 GC 21.1 1.1874, 655.

129 James Barnes, 'ART. V. Bicton Gardens, their Culture and Management. In a Series of Letters to the
Conductor Letter HI. The Heath-house. Potting in rough Soil and Training. Use of Fragments of
Freestone and Pebbles. Lists of Heaths', GMIS (1842), 617-621, 619.

130 John Lindley, Theory of Horticulture (London, 1855), 101-2; See also Annals of Horticulture (1849),
40.

131 Robert Peel, Memoirs (London, 1857), 314/5.

132 See The Magazine of Horticulture, Botany, and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural
Affairs 13 (Boston, 1847), 364-5.

13 * Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society 1 1 .06. 1 859-3 1.12.1861, 42, 211.

134 EFP 07.06.1 838.

135 EFP 12.08. 1 802, 30.09. 1 802, 11.11.1 802.

136 Besley, 77ie Post office Directory of Exeter and Suburbs (1835); White, William, History, Gazette

1850),91.

137 EFP 21.02.1883, 7a.

Exeter 2 nd edn (Sheffield

Barnes, W. Brock, R.R.M. Daw, J. Dixon, W.H. Ellis, M. Farrant
, Hamilton, J. Harding. Jfamesl Lawless. H.C. Llovd. H. Michelrm

C.B. Sanders, F. Townsend and H. Wilcocks. Nurserymen W. H. Sclater, R. T. Veitch, and Dr. Woodman
of Lucombe and Pince.

139 EFP 1.10.1829.

140 Reprint of article from Woolmer's Exeter Gazette, 29.09.1830 in GM5 (1830), 749-750.

141 Torquay and Tor Directory 22.05.1846, 5c.

142 EFP 01.08.1883, 7d.

143 DR0 961M/add/E34.

144 EFP 22.08.1891, 8c.

145 A Complaining Gardener, GM3 (1828), 360.

146 PWDRO 74/507B/1-2. Write up of Royal Devon and Cornwall Horticultural Society in Devonport
Independent.

147 DRO B961M/M/E34; EFP 17.06.1863,7b/c.

148 EFP 19.08.1863, 5e.

149 £F/> 7.12.1837, 2e.

150 EFP 11.1 1.1847, 2f.

151 EFP 6.11.1 856, 5b.

152 The Floricultural Cabinet and Florists ' Magazine VI (1838), 215.

153 These included Loudon's Gardeners Magazine (est. 1826), Paxton's Horticultural Register (est.
1831), Gardener's Chronicle, established in 1841 by Joseph Paxton and John Lindley, Glenny's
Horticultural Magazine (est 1845), Cottage Gardener edited by George. W. Johnson (est 1847). Shirley
Hibberd's, Floral World and Garden Guide (est. 1858), Gardener (est 1867) edited by William Thomson,
and William Robinson's The Garden (est 1871). For an extensive list of horticultural journals see Anne

Wilkinson, The Victorian Gardener: The Growth of Gardening and the Floral World, Appendix 1
(Stroud, 2006), 21 1-214.

154 See for example Standish and Noble of Bagshot, Practical Hints on Planting Ornamental Trees With
Particular Reference to Coniferae; in Which all the Hardy Species are Popularly Described and Their
More Familiar Synonyms Given; Also, Descriptions of the Principal Other Kinds of Hardy Evergreen
Trees and Shrubs, with Remarks on the Situation for which each is Best Adapted, and the Soil and
Treatment it Requires; and Classified Lists of Such as are Best Adapted for Particular Soils and

Chapter Four: The Perfect Gardener

191

Situations to Which is Added, Instructions on the Cultivation of American Plants, and on the
Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya (London, 1852).

155 Herman Saunders, 'ART VI Some Account of the Kitley Shaddock*, GM 1 (1826), 265-266; James
Burgess 'ART VIII. Recipe for composing a Liquid for effectively destroying Caterpillars, Ants, Worms,
and other Insects*, GMl (1 826), 389-390.

156 Journal of Horticulture, 2479 (1 896), 3 1 7.

157 Joan Morgan and Alison Richards, A Paradise out of a Common Field: The Pleasures and Plenty of
the Victorian Gardener repr. edn (New York, 1990).

158 Morgan and Richards, Paradise, 21.

159 The Gardener, 479, 591.

160 See GM1 (1831), 722; GM 18 (1842), 556.

161 Richard Saunders, 'Some Account of a Remarkable Lemon Tree in the Garden of C. Hoare Esq. at
Luscombe, Devonshire', GM 2 (1827), 29-30; Robert Reid, 'Marica Northiana', GM 5 (1829), 661;
Herman Saunders 'Kitley Shaddock', GMi (1 826), 265-266.

162 The Garden 05.01,1895, 5. 'Spacious villa gardens' of Torquay contain sub-tropical plants such as
alms, dracaenasy horminums and Musa ensete' (banana).

163

Richard Saunders, 'Art XV. List of Exotics which are now living in the Gardens of Charles Hoare,

Esq., at Luscombe near Dawlish, in Devonshire*, GM% (1832), 566-567.

164 See for example, from GC t quotation from letter written by James Barnes of Bicton about the potato
disease in, EFP 4.02.1847; details of the "Vegetable Collection Prize" of £10 won by John Garland, head
gardener at Killerton in EFP 5.07.1871; and notes from David Powell of Powderham Castle on fruit

growing in EFP 26.09.1883, 2f.

Toby Musgrave, The Head Gardeners: Forgotten Heroes of Horticulture (London, 2007).

166 Musgrave, Head Gardeners, 93.

167 Musgrave, Head Gardeners, Chapter 8, and Appendix A.

168 GM, 1 (1 826), 265, 389; A shaddock is a large citrus fruit, similar to, but larger than an orange, smaller
than a grapefruit.

169 The Gardener's Magazine, 20.09.1873, 499, first printed in the Danbury Newsman.

170 Barnes, 'Potting in rough Soil' GMW (1842), 617-621, 619-620.

171 Census PRORG11, 14-15 Powderham, 1881, St Giles in the Wood and Filleigh, 1901; Filleigh 1911;
The Times 3.06.1875, 3d. William Gillies, wrote a regular column advising on 'garden work' in the St
Giles-in-the-Wood Parish Magazine. He also took an active role in children's education, working with the
children at Wallingbrook school where his children attended, see DRO 4420M/Z9, 13-14.

172 DRO 7140 (96M) Cash Book 1872-1877, East Devon Rental and Account 1884; EFP 24.02.1894.

173 Total number of gardeners with these details is 2,1 80.

174 Census PRO RG10, Oare, Somerset, 1871; PRO RG12 High Bray, 1891; PRO RG13 Exeter, 1901;
PRO RG14 Exeter 1911 (facsimile on internet).

173 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1200.

176 Joseph Shepheard, The Western Counties and Manure Company Limited Almanac (1880), 5.

177 EFP 26.09.1883, 5d.

178 Heaton, 'Gardeners', JRHS 20:1 (1896), 40-52, 48.

Chapter Four. The Perfect Gardener

192

PART TWO
COMMERCIAL GARDENERS

Gardening for Profit

CHAPTER FIVE

Market Gardeners

Introduction
Research to Date

Land
Early History

Size of Holdings
Occupancy of Land

Rent

Crops

Working Practices

Manures
Markets

Women as Market Gardeners

Competition
Summary

Gardening For Profit

PART TWO

For most men there were only two careers beyond that of head gardener. They could
become market gardeners or nurserymen, in charge of their own business. This was an
extension of the work they would have been doing managing a large garden, supplying
surplus produce to local markets, hiring and firing man-power, ordering stock,
overseeing production of, and experimenting with, different varieties of plants. As part
of this progression he might offer his services as a landscape designer as did Edward
Sparks of Tiverton and, more famously, John Veitch at Killerton. 1

Those who followed this route included Amaziah (also known as Emanuel) Saul, who

came from Lincolnshire as head gardener at Castle Hill from at least 1850. In 1866 he
was listed as a market gardener at Filleigh. Fifteen years later he was retired and living
at Laurel Villas, Bishops Hull, Somerset. William Spreadbury had been head gardener
to Lord Portsmouth at Eggesford from 1868 to 1878. Although still only a young man

of 38 he moved from there to take on the proprietorship or the Yeo Valley Hotel at
Lapford, from where he also ran a business selling agricultural seeds. By March 1889 he
had seed stores at both Lapford and Crediton, and retained his interest in gardening
through judging at local shows. 3

The second part of this thesis looks at commercial gardeners and compares the industry
of market gardening with nurseries. Market gardens in the region have supplied local
markets and the sea-ports for generations. Unlike the huge market gardens which
surrounded London, Devon gardens tended to be small and family run with additional
seasonal labour as and when needed. The majority of market gardens were situated near
to Exeter and around Plymouth, but there were others spread throughout the county
supplying smaller towns and villages. Records of market gardeners are scarce, the best
being for the Tamar valley, half of which is in Cornwall, therefore the following chapter
includes information from that region as well as for Devon. Much of the information

gleaned would have applied to the Devon market gardeners in the Tamar valley and
elsewhere.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

195

CHAPTER FIVE

Market Gardeners

In small towns even to the present day the wants of those who cannot cultivate
garden produce for themselves are supplied by small local farmers and
gardeners, who bring in on market days such mixed loads of farm and garden
produce as the successive seasons yield, and housewives largely attend such
markets and purchase for themselves. 4

Introduction

As with all other branches of gardening it is not easy to define a market gardener. There
was often an overlap with jobbing gardeners, nurserymen, farmers and subsistence
smallholders. In the nineteenth century Devon was a county with many small farms.
Sarah Wilmot estimates that eleven percent were under twenty acres and nineteen
percent under fifty acres which makes it even harder to distinguish between farmers and
gardeners. 5 From the census listings of 1881 it appears that many market gardeners

considered themselves as farmers and, in places such as Bere Ferrers, would probably
have been farmers before they began to grow strawberries and narcissi as their main
crops. There were also farmer gardeners such as George Eveleigh of Sidmouth, William
Cann of Brixham and Hannah Rossister of Sowton who combined both occupations.
They grew agricultural crops, or were dairy or stockmen, but also supplied markets with
vegetables, fruit or flowers. 6 This enabled them to have cash crops to sell at local
markets, while plant refuse and damaged crops also created fodder for over-wintering
cattle which in turn provided manure for the land. These farmer gardeners would
probably have cultivated their land using a plough, rather than spade labour.

The census had two categories of gardeners, 'domestic' for those who worked in a
private garden and 'non-domestic' for commercial gardeners. The latter included
nurserymen, seedsmen and florists. Market gardeners should therefore have been
counted as 'non-domestic gardeners'. In the 1881 census the category 'gardener' was
qualified, either by adding 'ND' for non-domestic gardeners, or by the use of codings
laid down by government clerks. Order '7' was the section for 'persons engaged in
agriculture', sub order '3' 'in gardens'. 7 If gardeners coded as ND or 7/3 were counted
as market gardeners and added to those already listed, the number would almost triple.
However, some gardeners, including head gardeners, who worked on estates, as day or
weekly workers, or even lived on the estate such as George Mudge at Comwood,
Reuben Cavill at Holbeton and John Franklin, gardener to Mrs Thornton West at

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners 1 96

Streatham Hall, Exeter, were also listed as 'gardeners non-domestic'. This definition
seemed as confusing for the individual responding to the census questionnaire as it is to
researchers today.

There are no codings to help distinguish commercial from domestic gardeners in the
1851 census. Gardeners themselves did not seem to make a distinction at this time,
although eighteen men listed as 'gardener' in this census were recorded as 'market
gardener' elsewhere. Cross checking with contemporary directories also shows people
listed as market gardeners who are entered in the census as farmers such as Philip May
of Tamerton Foliot, Frederick Corber of Eggbuckland and William Cornish from
Newton St Cyres. The number of non-domestic gardeners recorded for Devon by the
census clerks increased from 2,199 in 1851 to 3,226 in 1881, but only a small

proportion of these had stated their occupation as market gardener - 146 in 1851 and
292 in 1881. 8

The problem of identification is compounded by the fact that many gardeners were

listed in the census as having dual occupations. The first occupation was the one

counted by the census clerks. When studying the Vale of Evesham gardening industry,
J. M. Martin found that in two Pershore parishes twenty-eight per cent of market
gardeners recorded dual occupations. When cross-referencing with directories, he found

this was an underestimation of the numbers actually involved in the industry, although
he does not say by how much. 9 This is true for Devon also; census returns and
directories that record dual occupations for market gardeners include dairymen/women,
innkeepers, carpenters, thatchers, butchers, labourers, as well as connected occupations
such as farmers, jobbing gardeners, carriers, shopkeepers, green grocers and florists (see
Figure 5:1). 10 It is logical that market gardeners should have dual occupations as
carriers, barge men or market boat owners, because produce had to be transported to

market. Many market gardeners sold their own produce direct to the public through
shops, hence greengrocers, florists or shop-keepers. Cordwainers, miners, inn-keepers,
brewers and cider-makers all had occupations that could be carried out alongside
gardening. Some smaller producers such as William Cudmore at Great Torrington, John
Mason at Tamerton Foliot and Joel Roberts at Stoke Damerel acted as labourers on
nearby farms or in larger gardens to engender an additional income. 11

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

197

Figure 5:1. Some examples of market gardeners with dual occupations

Name

Albion Maunder
Henry Miller
John Roberts
John Capron
Matthew Tapp
Thomas Banfield
Joel Roberts
James Pike
John Siverage
Joseph Fisher
Joseph Richards
Matilda Creek
Edwin Challacor

Other Occupation Parish

Blacksmith

Milkman

Dairyman

Farmer

Beer Retailer

Innkeeper

Jobbing Gardener

Thatcher

Florist

Baker, Fanner
Baker

Butcher
Carpenter

Thomas Cummings Carrier

Kenton

Plymouth
Plymouth

Heavitree

Exminster

Thorverton

Devonport

Alphington

Heavitree

Newton St Cyres

Ide

Combe Martin
Combe Martin
Thorverton

Robert Cudlip
Jane Maben
John Richards

John Howe
Edwin Lowday
John Pack

Market Boat Owner Bere Ferrers

Dairywoman
Farm Labourer
Shopkeeper

Stoke Damerel

Tiverton

Gardener Domestic Dartmouth

Seedsman

Dinneford Grocer

Richard P
Elizabeth

John Dall
Mrs Ann

* Quarter Sessions.

Fly Owner
Fruiterer

Coal Dealer
Maltster

Ipplepen

Kenton

Ivybridge

Plymouth

Starcross

Exeter St Sidwell

Date

1901

1881

1851

1866

1851

1878

1851

1881

1866

1878

1851

1893

1878

1881

1878

1881

1897
1890
1850
1878

Source

Census

Census; White's
Census

Kelly's; Census
Census; White's
White's; Census
Census
Census

Kelly's; Morris

White's

Census

Eyre's Plymouth

White's

Kelly' s

White's

Census; QS*

Census; Kelly's

White's

Gardeners, leasing or owning land such as John Wotton of Exeter St Thomas who
gardened on two acres and Joseph Nicholls, 'gardener with eight acres' would almost
certainly have also been market gardeners. While it can be assumed that others listed
as 'gardeners' were actually market gardeners, especially those in rural areas where
there were not villas or estates to provide work, these men have not been counted in this
chapter unless there is corroborating evidence from elsewhere. Other non-domestic
gardeners have also been ignored to avoid them being incorrectly identified as market
gardeners rather than nurserymen, private or jobbing gardeners.

The main feature which distinguished market gardening from farming in the South West
during the nineteenth century was that garden plots were generally tilled by spade
labour alone, not by the plough and, in the majority of cases, by the labour of the
gardener and his family only, except at harvest times. Taking advantage of Devon's
mild climate, market gardeners concentrated on growing vegetables, fruit and flowers

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

198

for human consumers, rarely for animal feed. Although some crops, notably hemp, flax
and hops had been grown for industrial purposes in the eighteenth century most of that
was discontinued by the nineteenth. 13

All gardening activities were labour intensive. Labour was needed for digging, levelling
ground, stone picking, constructing raised beds, collecting and spreading manure,
sowing seed, thinning, transplanting, hoeing, weeding, putting in stakes for support,
watering and deterring pests and diseases. This spread of work indicates that there were
jobs, not only for men, but also for women and children. Of the 1,840 market gardeners,
identified through census records and directories in Devon during the nineteenth
century, 139 were women. Only fourteen boys under the age of 14 were listed as
working in market gardens. William French at Ideford and Edwin and William Tall at

South Brent were grandsons to the head of household; Frederick Turpin of Plympton St
Mary and Frederick Warren were sons, so they could be counted as family members
carrying on the business. William Gliddon at Topsham, William Davey of Chudleigh,
William Langworthy at Withycombe Raleigh, William Leaman of Ashburton and John
Ward at Kenton did not appear to be working for relatives. 14 However, it is probable in
such a labour intensive industry that the majority of the children of market gardeners
worked with their parents. School log books at Combe Martin report that children were
kept at home to harvest strawberries, which suggests the need for their work was

seasonal, and this must have been the case elsewhere. 15

In 1822 John Claudius Loudon's simplest definition of market gardeners was those
who, 'grow culinary vegetables and also fruits'. He went further in that he split these
gardeners into three types; those who grew vegetables, 'for the kitchen' such as
cabbage, peas and turnips; those who grew vegetable and herb plants for propagation;
and those with 'hot-beds and hot-houses' who produced luxury items such as,
'mushrooms, melons, pines and other forced articles and exotic fruits'. He did not
include growing flowers or seeds in his definition, rather he had a further category of
gardener, that of florist or market-florist. 16 By 1898 market gardeners were described as
'those engaged in cultivating vegetables, fruits and flowers for market supply'. 17 For the
purpose of this chapter therefore, a market gardener will be defined as a gardener with
land, rented or owned, who grew vegetables, fruit or flowers for sale at local or distant
markets.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

199

Research to Date

Little mention of the south-west market gardening industry had been made until Louisa
Jebb undertook her three year study on smallholdings for the Co-operative Small
Holdings Association to gather the facts on which to base reforms for settlement of the
land. 18 Her work, based in part on oral interviews with smallholders, has a section on
market gardening in the Tamar Valley especially at Calstock and St Dominick in
Cornwall Although she mentions Devon smallholdings at Halwili, these were not
market gardens, but raised cattle and pigs, 19 Frank Booker, also writing about the Tamar
valley, considers the changes to the long-standing market gardening industry brought
about by scientific advances, not just of expanded transport systems, but also of new
and improved manures which increased the fertility of the soil in the area. 20

Ronald Webber produced a general history of the industry in 1972. Although connected
with market gardening for many years, he appears to have obtained most of his
information from written texts and does not seem to have accessed any census records
or local archives. About a quarter of the text (54 pages) is devoted to regional history
and of that about four pages to Devon and Cornwall. The book is not referenced,
containing only a general bibliography although he repeats much that was written about
the area by earlier writers especially Jebb, D. J. Goodchild (1954) and Katherine
Johnstone (1955). 21

According to Webber, apart from the Tamar valley and market gardens around
Plymouth and Exeter, there was 'not a great deal of horticulture' in Devon until the
1 890s and the beginnings of the violet industry of Torquay, Teignmouth and Dawlish.
In fact by the late 1870s there were market gardens in more than 130 parishes
throughout the county, the majority of which were centred around Exeter, Torbay and
Plymouth or on the north coast. Webber does mention a 'small' undertaking on the

Combe Martin slopes that began on the closure of the tin mines and supplied early
strawberries to Ilfracombe, a growing holiday resort, and to South Wales. 22 Evidence
from the 1891 census and directories shows quite a large market gardening industry
here in terms of the number of people involved, with thirty-two market gardeners listed
for Combe Martin, These included George Rook, James Norman, Susan Eastman, John
Watts and John Gubb. There were also eleven gardeners and twenty-seven farmers. By
1901 there were more than sixty families involved in the market garden industry. No

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

200

market gardeners were listed for this area in 1 85 1 , but this was a parish of small farms;
twelve were listed with twenty acres or less. 23

In 1 890 land belonging to the Combe Martin Manor Estate was auctioned in ninety-one
lots, of which forty-four were already market gardens. Many were very small plots of
less than an acre and were advertised as being suitable for either market gardening or
for building. Some market gardeners occupied several of these tiny plots. Mr John
Burgess, for example, had five holdings, but the total amount of land was less than four
acres. Although it is not known whether Burgess purchased any of this land, he did buy

three properties in 1905 at a total

There were several extended families

involved in the market garden trade in the village, most notably the Rooks, Burgesses,
Normans and Gubbs, as well as individuals.

There have been orchards in Devon since at least the 1 3 century, growing apples for
cider that was not only used as part of a labourer's wages, but was also 'sold in large
quantities for the provisioning of ships'. 25 Vancouver in 1808 mentioned that, in the
'kitchen gardens', a crop grown by all was that of leeks, but that pot-herbs, kitchen
garden vegetables and some ornamental plants and flowers were also grown. Potatoes,
he maintained were mostly grown in larger plots, or in the fields. 26 There must have
been an organised system of supply because when the navy required food for their ships

during the Napoleonic War, the demand was that they should be supplied within twelve

hours.

The Torbay area became known for cabbage growing. These were grown in vast
quantities to supply the market for seed and plants as well as the vegetables themselves,
as every gardener whether private, allotment, estate or professional grew cabbages.
Paignton was particularly renowned for growing large sweet cabbages which were

transported by road to Newton Abbot for distribution to local markets or sent by sea for

Aft

markets further afield. Other important gardening areas in Devon were the sheltered
valleys of the north Devon coast, Moretonhampstead where the soil was particularly
suited to potato growing, and in and around the Taw valley. 30 Market gardens which
produced flowers, fruit and vegetables were owned by Torridge Vale Dairy at
Torrington; early peas and narcissi were grown at Newton Poppleford and gooseberries
at Alphington. 3 1

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

201

At Branscombe the market gardens were situated on the cliff-top and grew mostly
potatoes. There is no mention of these in White's 1850 Directory, and no gardeners
were listed in the 1841 census. By 1881 there were only five gardeners listed for the
village, but ten years later there were twenty-one gardeners in the 1891 census. This
suggests that most of the gardens were in production towards the end of the century,
although there had probably been small potato fields on the cliffs for many years. In
Kelly's Directory of 1897, the entry for Branscombe states, 'The crops are wheat,
barley, oats and early potatoes, which are grown principally on the slopes of the cliffs
facing the sea.' 32

Studies of the market gardening industry in Middlesex, Bedfordshire and
Worcestershire have been made by L. G. Bennett, F. Beavington and J. M. Martin

respectively from the point of view of social and economic history. They chart the rise
of the number of gardeners in response to an expansion in population and consequent
demand for food. Each area had early established market gardens. Martin concentrates
on the Vale of Evesham and charts the fortunes of a few families, but Bennett and

Beavington consider a countywide response. 33

More recently there has been an increased interest in market gardening with the
publication of diaries of two market gardeners many miles and years apart. 34 These are

important because market gardens were often small and family run and few market
gardeners left records. Joseph Snell gardened on 18 acres in the Tamar valley, growing
vegetables, herbs and fruit. His diary dates from 1914 and runs to 1938 when he was
killed in a bus accident aged 56. Although interesting, the diary covers a later period
than is being studied. However, it does give a useful insight into gardening techniques
which would not have changed significantly, and the number of people who were
supported by the market gardening industry. There were barges which brought fertilisers
and manure to the quays at Cotehele and Halton. Lime kilns supplied the lime that
fertilised the land. The cottage industry of punnet and box making kept workers busy
during the winter months as well as providing work for children, unmarried daughters or
physically disadvantaged males all year round. Blacksmiths produced and repaired
tools, carpenters supplied ladders and there was always a need for casual labour for

weeding or harvesting crops. 35

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

202

Figure 5:2: Crops grown by Joseph Turrill of Garsington

Fruit

Apricots

Apples

Plums
Blackcurrants Lettuce

Raspberries

Strawberries

Walnuts

Grapes

Rhubarb

Damsons

Cherries

Vegetabl es

Potatoes
Peas
Cabbage

Kidney beans

Gooseberries Cucumber

Flowers

Carrots

Parsnips

Onions

Shallots

Mangolds

Cauliflower

Turnips

Broccoli

Savoy Cabbage

Celery

Mustard & Cress

Greens

Marrow

Flukes (kidney potatoes)

Roses
Lillies

Monthly rose

Violets

Tulips

Convolvulus

Aster

Stock

Winter chrysanthemums
Dwarf chrysanthemums

Sweet peas
French marigolds
Crocuses
Bay trees
Gillyflowers
Brompton stocks
Pinks

1 0 week stock
Geraniums

Calceolarias

Source: E. Dawson and S. Royal (eds.) An Oxfordshire Market Gardener: The Diary of Joseph
Turrill of Garsington 1841-1925 (Stroud, 1993).

A great deal of market gardening was fragmented and made use of whatever land was

available. Gardeners such as Joseph Turrill of Garsington had several plots of land,
from individual gardens that he leased, to allotments on the common, and even a couple
of plots that he purchased from the railway which were 'very dear'. 36 TurrilPs market
was the fast growing city of Oxford. His diary, written when he was in his early
twenties, details his daily life. He would frequently rise at 4 am or earlier to pack
vegetables, fruit or flowers to be transported into the city (see Figure 5:2). During the
day he would also help his mother to run a public house and spent many evenings
clearing his ground by moonlight. He noted some of the crops he grew and where he

acquired some of his plants, made comments on the weather and the prices that his
vegetables and fruit fetched at market. In his 'spare' time he was also the local rate
collector and income tax assessor, village photographer and journalist.

At the other end of the scale, the largest and arguably the most successful market
gardens were centred around London. Drawing heavily on information from John
Middleton's View of the Agriculture of Middlesex (1807), A. C. B. Urwin looks at the

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

203

history of market gardens at Brompton, Kensington, Fulham, Hammersmith, Chiswick,
Brentford, Isleworth and Twickenham. 38 Malcolm Thick has made a study of the Neat
House gardens at Westminster, one of the more famous businesses in the seventeenth
and early eighteenth century and describes the practices of early market gardeners who
were growing mainly for the London markets, although like many, they sold from their
premises as well 39 These gardens, like so many of the early ones, were lost under
housing in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. 40

The Covent Garden market was one of the most important centres of distribution of fruit
and vegetables in London where most produce was sent from local and distant suppliers.
A brief history of the market and of a family of market gardeners has been produced by
Jesse Lobjoit Collins, herself a descendent of the Huguenot family who came to London

in the 1680s. The Lobjoits leased and owned several farms and gardens within a few
miles of the market and became one of the most famous market garden producers with a
fixed stand at the market. 41 William Lobjoit was a member of the Committee of the
Market Gardeners, Nurserymen and Farmers Association who worked with the Duke of
Bedford to organise the market in 1832 42

Land

An advertisement in Trewman's Exeter Flying Post in 1832 was aimed at 'nurserymen
and market gardeners' and gave details of gardens to be let for a period of fourteen
years. What is particularly interesting about this advertisement is that the gardens
belonged to Dulford House at Broadhembury 43 This suggests that landowners in times
of economic hardship, or absenteeism were prepared to let their kitchen gardens to an
outside agency. This appears to be not uncommon as the Courtenays at Powderham had
let their kitchen garden in 1851 to William Major as a market garden. The garden at
Exwick House was also advertised to be let by tender 'for a term of 7 or 10 years' in
1834. 44 Other large gardens were advertised for sale or let to gardeners or nurserymen
such as those of Mount Radford House, praised as 'well-stocked and very productive,
and, as seen in Chapter four, that of Lupton 45

Letting kitchen gardens could be beneficial to both parties. The landlord, should he
require it, still had access to a regular supply of good quality fresh vegetables and fruit
with the addition of a regular income. The gardener benefited by leasing land that was

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

204

already walled, well stocked and almost certainly in good heart. He also had access to
buildings and glasshouses that formed the kitchen garden range. He may have started

his business with one assured customer and would also have been sufficiently close to a
town, probably with reasonable roads, where a market would absorb his other produce.

Other land was advertised to let when a gardener gave up the ground or on the death of
the occupier. For example 'To Let... [a] highly productive market garden containing
\T/ 2 acres in a high state of cultivation, with suitable buildings thereon, and for many
years past in the occupation of the late Mr George Passmore of Exeter. 46 It is rare to find
details of rents required or paid. Land for market gardening could fetch higher rents
than for normal agricultural ground therefore it was usually let out by tender - this
ensured that the landowner achieved the maximum rent possible. 47

Estate and town records that include leases and deeds indicate where some market
gardeners held land, for example, the assignment of a lease to William Francis of

A 9

Bicton, and mortgages and sale to Edward Keen of Plymouth. It has been possible to

trace the growth of market gardening following the Smallholdings Act of 1892, The

Courtenay papers illustrate how land was let in small parcels within six to eight miles of
Exeter specifically for market gardening, and Walter Radcliffe at Tamerton Foliot also
let land to market gardeners. 49

Leases and deeds need to be studied carefully because they often detailed land for
private use, not commercial purposes. It was common for people to have a garden
separate from their home, especially if they were living and working in the centre of the
city where land for gardens was scarce.

Early History

There has always been a place for food production to provide for those who had
insufficient or no land of their own. These included people living in institutions and
those whose main occupation precluded food production such as seamen, craftsmen and
industrial workers living in towns. Initially, royalty, religious houses and the
aristocracy, who were in possession of large private gardens, sold surplus produce in
local markets. Monasteries, for example, grew vegetables for food, herbs for medication
and flowers for use in religious ceremonies or for dressing the saints. 50 Henry VIII was

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

205

responsible for introducing a wider variety of fruit and vegetables into this country from
Europe. 51 It is said that he had plants and seeds imported at the demand of Catherine of
Aragon who missed the selection of vegetables from home. 52 From the mid sixteenth
century London was supplied, in part, with surplus brassicas, root crops and fruit from
the gardens and orchards of the gentry from Kent and Essex. 53 As London and the larger
towns expanded, so too did the demand for supplies of fruit and vegetables and in the
early seventeenth century the Gardener's Company attempted to protect its own
membership by regulating the size of garden plots and the numbers of employees of
Middlesex gardeners. This was unsuccessful and by the middle of the seventeenth
century, staple crops were supplied by market gardeners who had set up their businesses
within easy reach of London and other urban markets. 54 Traditional areas associated
with early market gardening were London, Bristol and Norwich, the three largest towns

in England, plus Exeter and Plymouth in the south-west. Not only were sea ports centres
of demand in their own right, but they also needed fresh fruit and vegetables, high in
vitamin C, to carry on board ship to help prevent scurvy.

New fashions in herb, vegetable and fruit eating were introduced when Protestant
refugees from Holland and France fled to this country as a result of religious
persecution. Many, like the Lobjoit family, brought with them their gardening skills and
set up as market gardeners in various regions of England, most notably around London,
Sandwich in Kent, Colchester and East Anglia where the immigrant population
congregated. 55

There were problems of transportation, however. Most goods would have been moved
by pack horse, cart or boat, therefore the majority of markets were limited to nearby
towns to ensure crops remained fresh and in good condition. Women in Middlesex
walked into London carrying baskets of produce weighing up to 40 pounds on their
heads. 56 Turnpike Trusts in the early eighteenth century improved roads which were
often widened and straightened, and certainly better maintained; this helped shorten
journey times. 57 By 1836 there were 22,000 miles of turnpike roads in England which
was approximately twenty per cent of all roads. 58 Turnpike tolls added to the cost of
transporting produce. The charge for a single horse was Id, for a wagon with one horse
3d, a wagon with 2 horses 6d and upwards. 59 There were also charges for standing in the
markets and for accommodating a horse. Overall costs for marketing varied according
to how produce was transported and whether wages were included. However, produce

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

206

could be also be transported on rivers and canals. It was no accident that many market
gardens were near navigable rivers or situated along the coast, like those in Devon. Root
vegetables, hard cabbage and some fruit stood longer journeys, but it was not until the

century that

transported quickly over long distances.

Joan Thirsk suggests that the development of market gardening was part of an
alternative approach to agriculture during periods of agricultural depression. She
maintains that the early growth of horticulture from the second half of the fourteenth
century to the beginning of the sixteenth century was influenced by the wealthy and
their demand for more exotic fruit and vegetables. When travelling in Europe, people
tasted new vegetables and brought or sent back seeds and plants to grow in this country.
The introduction of different vegetables and fruit helped stimulate the development of
horticultural crops which included new varieties of lettuce, cucumbers, asparagus and
artichokes. 60 These influences encouraged the spread, during the mid-seventeenth
century, of market gardening to other regions which included the Vale of Evesham and
Vale of Taunton Deane where the soil was particularly suited to growing fruit.

The market gardening industry expanded after the Civil War for several reasons. These
included a growing awareness and interest in healthy eating by the wealthier members

of the population. For the gardener, increased productivity per acre due to the use of
marl, lime and new manures led to larger profits at the market. Landlords also benefited
by charging higher rents on gardening ground. New horticultural crops such as
cauliflowers from Cyprus and Italy, cabbage from Holland, and Spanish lettuce were
very labour intensive to cultivate, but gave work to an expanding population and
provided both food and work for the poor. The gentry began to see how intensive
gardening methods using spade labour could cut the need for poor relief and so

encouraged the growth of labour intensive crops. They were influenced by the growing

number of books, more freely available due to new printing practices, which
disseminated information about the newest varieties of crops and the latest techniques.
These included Walter Bligh's The English Improver, or a New Survey of Husbandry
(1649), and, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, George London and Henry
Wise, notable nurserymen from London, promoted the kitchen garden in The Retir 9 d
Gard'ner. 61 This growing fashion for gentlemen to take an interest in their kitchen

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

207

gardens and plantations spurred a demand for seeds, plants and trees from the mid
seventeenth century.

Gardeners became more sophisticated in their practices with increased use of hot-beds,
cloches, bell jars and frames, covered in matting during the winter. These helped extend
the growing season, providing early and late crops, thereby satisfying demand for out of

season fruit, flowers and vegetables. 62 Competition between all types of gardeners was
fierce which was good for the industry. Knowledge and experience were spread
throughout the gardening community as gardeners followed the best practices, and
nurtured and bred the best plant varieties. 63 Horticultural shows were venues for
showing off the latest developments, attended by nurserymen, estate and market
gardeners. James Townsend of St David's Hill was one of the exhibitors at Exeter's

Botanical and Horticultural Society in 1833. 64 Other market gardeners exhibiting at
shows included George Hockaday, Charles Towil, William Blackmore and William
Cornelius at Dawlish. In 1884 Francis Cornelius and John Stone won ten and fourteen
prizes respectively, at the Dawlish Flower Show, for their produce. 65 Competing too,

alongside other growers at the market, were some local estate gardeners such as those at

Maristow and Powderham (see Chapter Four) 66

In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries farming improvements, rationalisation of

land holdings and enclosure forced labourers off the land and into towns which also
became magnets for service industries. Many small town holdings, gardens and
allotments were sold for building land to accommodate the expanding population.
Streets of back to back houses proliferated in town centres where houses were often
built so close together that there was little space left available for food production.
Town gardeners who lost their holdings were forced to move to the outskirts of towns,
but they had a ready market to offset the additional cost of carriage, and the railways
expanded markets still further. The South Devon Railway was extended from Exeter in
1846 and eventually reached Plymouth in 1849. By the 1890s there was a branch line to
take in the Bere Peninsular which helped the market garden industry at Bere Ferrers and
Bere Alston. 67

In Devon the tourist industry not only brought many visitors to the county who needed
to be fed, but it also led to the building of many villas in the more popular seaside towns
to house a permanent summer population. Torquay had expanded the most, by 164.3 per

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

208

cent from 1801 to 1841, but Teignmouth, Dawlish, and Exmouth also doubled their
populations, so it was no wonder that by 1850 White was describing the South Hams as
the 'garden of Devonshire'. 68

Recession in the 1870s and the importation of cheap foreign grain also aided the
expansion of horticulture. Farmers turned from growing grain to specialise in growing
seeds for seed companies, or to production of potatoes, carrots, cabbages, peas, beans
and brussels sprouts which could be sold as cash crops. 69 The downside of this trade
was the cost of transportation, although without the railways, this diversification would
not have been possible. Without the gangs of women from Shropshire and Ireland who
travelled across the country to help with weeding and the fruit harvest, there would also
have been a shortage of labour to pick the crops.

Areas which benefited were the Vale of Evesham, Worthing, Sandy in Bedfordshire,
Spalding, the Isle of Axholme and Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. The latter was formerly
a wheat growing area, but by 1900 was sending 15,000 tons of fruit via the railway to
major cities. Cambridgeshire became a jam-making area with two to three hundred jam-
makers, such as Chivers of Histon near Cambridge. The largest of these used 20,000
tons of fruit annually mostly supplied by smallholders. 70 In Plymouth, by 1902, the
Devonshire Fruit Preserving Company competed with H. Matthews & Son, Fruit
Preservers. 71 Increased affluence meant that even the poor could afford to buy jam.

The significant decline in the rural population led to a nostalgic view of country living
that was part of a burgeoning interest in health and fitness. The vegetarian society was
founded at Ramsgate in Kent in 1847. One of the presidents was Mr Joseph Brotherton,
Member of Parliament for Salford, whose wife had written the first cookery book using
only vegetarian recipes. Other societies followed including a Dietetic Reform Society in
1875, and the London Food Reform Society in 1877. These groups were linked with
religion through the Bible Christians and with campaigns against tobacco and alcohol. 72
By the 1880s vegetarianism had a high profile and encouraged a demand for top quality
vegetables. The middle classes had changed their diet to include more salads and fruit
for dessert. Tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber were the most popular salad crops grown
under glass. Potatoes were a crop that many grew for themselves or they were grown
in fields, so market gardeners, especially smaller producers, concentrated on production
of the earliest or novelty varieties such as blue potatoes.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

209

From the 1840s, allotments had been made available to labourers and artisans
throughout Devon, but apart from at Buckfastleigh, rules forbade the growing of

vegetables for sale.

leteenth century, legislation was introduced
allotments if there was sufficient demand

Some of those who applied for land in Ashwater, Bradford and Thornbury requested
larger plots of two to four acres (the usual size for an allotment was a maximum of l A
acre) which might be better considered smallholdings. As the 'back to the land'
movement took a hold, it was thought that small tradesmen could combine their trade
with working a smallholding, or that it was possible to keep people on the land in a self-
supporting capacity acting as market gardeners selling vegetables, flowers, soft fruit,
poultry and eggs. 76 The 1 892 Small Holdings Act allowed county councils to borrow
monies from the Public Works Loan Commission for the purchase of land for

smallholdings. These holdings were approximately four acres and were a reasonable
size for those wishing to set up as market gardeners. To qualify, an agricultural worker
had to be able to pay twenty per cent of the cost initially and reimburse the remainder
over a period of time in instalments. 77 Where land was sold for this purpose there were
often stringent conditions attached. This is demonstrated by the sale in 1 895 of a little
over four acres of land by the Duke of Bedford's estate, where the purchaser 'Mr

Mallett a little Tradesman at Tavistock', was to erect and maintain a 'substantial stone

faced fence... to be approved by the Duke's Steward'. The sale excluded any rights of
common and forbade taking water from the mill leat.

Water was an important factor for market gardeners. Those plots with access to water

fetched a better price as it was time consuming to have to carry water from elsewhere.

When tenders were asked for lease of land this was one of the items used as a selling
point to prospective tenants.

The Victorian era saw a growth in interest in flowers, especially roses, daffodils, violets
and anemones which led to some market gardeners, where the soil and climate were
suitable, specialising in flower crops. Bulb growers in Spalding produced narcissi, lilies
and crocuses for the middle classes in the industrial towns of the north of England. 80 In
Devon, Teignmouth, Holcombe and Dawlish were well-known for their violet crops in
the 1890s. 81 The income from these flowers was as high as £1,300 per annum on as little

as three acres of land making it a very attractive crop. 82

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

210

Nineteenth century society was wealthier overall than in previous generations making
more money available for purchase of plants, vegetables, and soft fruit out of season.
This, together with better transport networks led to a growth in demand for small-
holdings and a surge in the market gardening industry. This was reflected in the acreage
of land utilised as market gardens which in Britain increased from 37,273 acres in 1878

to 83,081 acres in 1892, and this excluded cabbages, carrots, broccoli, kidney beans and
peas grown as field crops.

Size of Holdings

Unlike the huge market gardens around London the majority of market gardeners in the
south-west operated on small parcels of land which rarely exceeded fifty acres. For
example, the 'productive market garden' at Pinhoe, Exeter, occupied by Mr Dyke,
advertised for sale by Messrs Hussey and Son in July 1 876 comprised only two and a
half acres. 84 Acreages varied from the half acre gardened by John Western at Tormoham

in 1881 to 42 acres in the care of John Sercombe at Exeter Holy Trinity in 1851. Even

in the early twentieth century some holdings remained small (see Figure 5:3). The
average from eighty one records found was 9.2 acres. This takes into account the larger
acreages of nine farmers who combined farming with market gardening. 85 If these are
taken out of the equation then the average holding drops to 5.4 acres. Sixty three per
cent had holdings of five acres or less, seventy five per cent of holdings were ten acres
or less. Goodchild estimates that market gardens in the Tamar valley in the 1950s only
averaged three to four acres apiece. 86 These figures are similar to those found by Martin
for Evesham, but smaller than those found by Beavington for Sandy and Potton in
Bedfordshire which averaged 814 and 12 acres respectively. 87

The more prosperous gardeners of the Vale of Evesham have been shown to be
gardeners of long standing in the region. Martin traced gardening families back to the
early eighteenth century using parish and probate records, while Beavington found the
gardening industry in Sandy went back even further to the seventeenth century. 88
Beavington used wills, lists of jurors and census material for his evidence. Wills and
inventories are not common in Devon as many were destroyed during the second world
war, and so far none have been found to help date the emergence of market gardening in
the region. However, from studying census records for the area it would appear that
there were long established gardening families such as the Pynes in Topsham, the

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners 211

Bowdens and Sercombes in Exeter. James Beer, a market gardener and fruit dealer in

Bishops Tawton left property and land in his will to his sons and two of his daughters,
William, the youngest son, another market gardener rented two orchards from the
Chichester Estate in addition to the garden and orchard from his legacy. 90 His brother
James was a fruit dealer who also employed his brother-in-law Sidney Newcombe as an

assistant. 91

Figure 5:3. Devon market garden acreage

1826- 2 11 1 1

1850

1851 1 4 1 5 4 4 2 1

1852- 1 1 2 2 6 2 3 2 2 1 1

1880

1881- 1 3 6 4 4 5 1 4 1 1 1

1891

1900- 3 2 2
1908

Total 5 12 12 11 10 17 5 7 3 2 2 1 1 1 1

1508M/Devon

1508M/LL1/27

In nineteenth century Devon, 188 market gardeners came from out of county. The
largest number, thirty-four per cent, were from Cornwall of which a quarter came from
market gardening parishes in the Tamar valley. Eighty-one per cent of these gardened in
or very near to Plymouth. Thirty-five gardeners came from Somerset, all from different
parishes. The majority of these individuals lived in or near Exeter, with three at
Plymouth and three in North Devon. Nine gardeners from Dorset lived in the east of the
county, the other five were at Plymouth. Only three gardeners came from Scotland
which is curious, because many gardeners in England were Scottish. Two of the eight
gardeners from Wales were at Combe Martin and had nrobablv travelled across the

Bristol Channel as did some of the fruit grown in that parish.

Those gardeners who were not from the south-western region may have travelled to this
part of the world as private gardeners and then purchased or leased a piece of land on
which to garden. Some gardeners travelled to several places in their lifetime. Thomas
Gilson was from Essex, his wife from Suffolk and his son was bom in Torquay. In 1881
the family lived in Dawlish. 93 James Spindler, also from Essex had a wife bom in

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners 212

Stafford and children born in Birmingham. Gilson and Spindler may have travelled
looking for work or may have had gardening links to friends and family. William
Hockey, from Cheshire, came to Devon via the navy and remained as a market gardener

Kingskerswell

around also, but within

much smaller locality, and often nearer to a town or railway halt and therefore closer to

a market.

Occupancy of Land

Figure 5:4. Market gardeners renting land from the Earl of Devon

Name

Address

From

Term

A R P Rent

Drew

Evans
Evans
Evans
Gribble

Gribble

Leach

Taylor

West

Swiss Cottage

James
William

Thomas 4 Torr Place
William

Alphington 29.9.1907 7 years

Henry
Henry

Cains Hill

Henry
John

Marsh Farm

Elizabeth, South Town

Mrs
Henry
John
George

Westcott George

Henry

Palmer

South Town

Southbrook

Kenton
Kenton
Kenton
Kenton
Kenton

Gribble William Torrington Place Kenton

Henry

Gribble William Torrington Place Kenton

Henry

Gribble William Torrington Place Kenton

Kenton
Kenton

Morrish William East Town
Sanders George E Torrington Place Kenton
Sanders George E Torrington Place Kenton

Kenton

Kenton
Kenton

1 3 33 £15
1 1 16£6.10s

1.3.1907 6 mons.
25.12.1919

29.9.1912 12 mons. 1 1 28 £7

1.3.1907 6 mons,

29.9.1907 6 mons
25.3.1916

1 1 10£6.10s

2 11 £3
1 1 28 £4

29.9.1912

1 0 9 £5

1 0 12£1.10s

28.9.1906 7 years
1.3.1907 6 mons

1 2 22 £8
1 1 9 £6.5s

29.9.1908 12 mons. 1 3 0£13.15s

29.9.1908 12 mons. 1 0 9

September 12 mons. 3 3 23 £30

1908

5.3.1928 12 mons. 3 3 23

29.9.1908

£5

29.9.1882 14 years 5 0 10 £28

Source DRO 1508M/Devon Add LL 6/8; 1508M/LLl/27-30b.

The majority of market gardeners were tenants which made for an insecure occupancy,
unless long leases could be arranged. If gardeners had short leases, then they would be
more likely to move regularly. Tenancy agreements varied. Some were renewable every
six months, others annually like that of Mrs Sercombe who was on a yearly Christmas
tenancy. 95 George Westcott' s lease was for fourteen years. Although this was

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

213

exceptional for those who leased land from the Earl of Devon, he did have a larger plot
than others in the area (see Figure 5:4). Yet market gardeners did hold the same land for
much longer than this. John Squire of Broadclyst had held his land for 'upwards of 20
years' in 1 876 when he was required to make a declaration regarding ownership of land
in the parish. 96 The Gilsons, Mitchells and Northcotts were running their market
gardening businesses from the same land in 1881 that they had held in 1851, although it
is not known whether this was by lease or whether they owned the land. 97 In 1 866 J ohn
Sandford of Little Torrington had the option of renting his land from the 'Mayor
Aldermen and Burgesses of Great Torrington' for a period of '7, 11, or 14 years'. This
meant that after an initial three year period, notice could be given on either side. He
obviously kept the land at Griffiths Hill for two periods of 14 years because it was
leased out again in 1 893 , this time to a Mr James Quick. 98 Caird suggested that from a
management point of view, seven to ten years was the minimum length of time needed
to guarantee good maintenance and improvement of the land. Any less than this and the
tenant would not be prepared to risk investing his money which he might lose at any

time.

Figure 5:5. Table of tolls for produce shipped within the Manor of Kenton (1894)

Per

£ s d

Ale, Beer, Porter, Cyder

hogshead

Ale, Beer, Porter, Cyder

barrel

Apples

Ton

IsOd

Beans

Quarter

Bones and bone dust

Ton

IsOd

Flax

Ton

ls6d

Groceries

Cwt

Hops

Packet

Potatoes

Cwt

Seeds

Quarter

Turnips

ton

Source: DRO 1508M/Devon add Ml/6.

Landlords such as the Courtenays at Powderham, encouraged the market gardening
industry by letting land specifically for that purpose, although it can be argued that this
was simply an extension of letting allotments which they had been doing since the
1840s. They charged higher rents for market gardens than for agricultural land. There
was also a toll imposed for shipped 'goods or merchandise' via the sea at Starcross (see
Figure 5:5 above). 100

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

214

The agreement between the Earl of Devon and Westcott dated 1882 states that the
gardens at Kenton should be 'properly cropped and filled up with fruit and apple trees
according to the best system of Market Gardening and the custom of the
neighbourhood'. When taking over the land on the demise of their father in 1893, two of
his younger sons, William and Frederick Westcott also agreed to the same terms 'for the
residue of the said term*. 101 Another gardener James Drew agreed with the Earl of
Devon to take on a plot of land at Alphington, which was little more than an acre and a
half, for seven years at an annual rent of £15, the 'first year free in consideration of
laying out the same as market garden'. In common with allotment tenancies, when

land

assumption

first year.

Invested capital was lost if a gardener was forced to move on. As a result gardeners
chose their crops with this risk in mind. Soft fruit gave a quicker return than tree fruit.
Most vegetables cropped in one year. In the Vale of Evesham, tenants who gave up a
holding would find another man willing to give him the cost of improvements,
including fruit bushes and trees and other growing crops. The landlord had overall
approval, but transactions were between the outgoing and incoming tenant. This made
for stability and fairness, and protected growers from loss when moving out or landlords

tenants

Cornwall and Devon. In Topsham an advertisement for a two acre plot in Monmouth
Street specified that the incoming tenant would have to pay the late occupier for garden
stock and fruit trees at valuation. 104 Compensation for crops could be expensive to the
incoming tenant. A gardener in Calstock paid £75 for the cost of fruit-trees planted on a
holding of 8 '/a acres, but this was cheaper than having to clear the land first, which
could have cost as much as £20 per acre. 105 Apple trees cost approximately 2s each, but
there would have been a wait before they matured and produced a viable crop. 106

The Market Gardeners' Compensation Act (1895) gave tenants of holdings let as market
gardens, the right to claim compensation at the end of their tenancy for fruit trees and
bushes and for permanent vegetable crops such as asparagus. Landlords were not
always happy at this, often stipulating that no part of a farm be called a market garden
(hence one of the problems in separating gardeners and farmers in the census returns).
They sometimes forbade growth of market garden crops, or alternatively provided fruit

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

215

bushes and trees themselves. The estate at Maristow paid out regularly for the
purchase and planting of apple trees for their tenants, for example in 1855 they
purchased fifty apple trees for Bower Farm and garden, newly incorporated onto the
estate. 108 Another way round the Act was to specify in the tenancy agreement that the
'Market Gardeners' Compensation Act of 1895 shall not apply to the tenancy hereby
created'. 109 It was not until the Agricultural Holdings Acts of 1906, 1910 and 1914, that
the tenant had a right to choose how to farm despite covenants on his lease. 110 This gave
more freedom to the growers and increased the variety of crops grown.

Rent

The cost of renting land bore little relationship to the size of the plot or the length of the

tenancy. Instead it had more to do with the quality of the soil, the position of the garden
and the general state of cultivation. Land that was near to a market, well cultivated and
well stocked fetched a much higher rent than poorly tended land. Landowners charged a
higher rent for small plots of garden ground than for land let for agricultural purposes.
As a result there was no shortage of owners advertising land in the Exeter Flying Post
for plots in and around Exeter. 1 1 1

Demand from alternative uses could influence rents, therefore land in town commanded
a higher rent than in rural areas as there was competition for land for residential
purposes. A plot near to a town with easy access to a market, railway or carrier system
also generated high rents. In 1876 Mr Dyke paid £16 a year for 2Vz acres near the
church in Pinhoe, and Westcott was paying £28 for his five acres in Kenton, £6.8s and
£5. 12s per acre respectively. 112 This is in comparison with the cost of agricultural land
near Exeter which was between £1.10s and £2.10s per acre. 113

If there were buildings included in the lease then the rent would also be higher than for
a vacant plot. Greenhouses and hot-houses were essential in propagating early plants
and other buildings were needed for packing and storage. Many gardeners also lived on
site. Martin claims that the rental value of garden ground in the Vale of Evesham was as
much as £5 to £10 per acre. 114 Evidence from Courtenay rentals suggests an average
price of £5.16s per acre, with the highest rent £8 per acre and the lowest at £2.10s. 115 If
other land is included this increases to £6.2s per acre (see Figure 5:6). Rents were not
increased throughout the term of the tenancy, so stayed stable over at least thirty years.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

216

All this land was near to Exeter and of high fertility. Jebb found similar figures for
Cornwall, she stated that rents paid were from £2 to £5 per acre with 4 as much as £7 and
£8 an acre... paid in good situations'. 116

Market garden land for purchase was expensive. From 1883 to 1898 in Middlesex land
for sale was priced at between £80 and £600 an acre. 117 At Combe Martin in 1890
productive market garden land fetched almost £400 an acre. 118

Figure 5:6. Rents for market gardens in Devon

Date Name

Place

1876 Mr Dyke Pinhoe,

Exeter

1876 Mr Taylor Pinhoe,

Exeter

Holding

Market Garden

Rent pa. Rent per acre Term

Orchard

Kenton

1882 George

Westcott
1890 Langdons, South

Bastin & Wonford,

Southbrook, Cottage, stable,

shed and S acres

Heavitree
Kenton

Bishop
1890 Henry

Taylor

1907 James Drew Alphington 2 acres

£16

£7

£28

1 cottage each and £37.10s
shared market + taxes

garden of 1 acre
3% acres

£30

£15

£6.8s

£4.13s

£5.12s

£8

£7. 10s

N/k

1 4 years

N/k

Annual

7 years

1908 George

Sanders

Kenton

Several small plots, £15.10s £4.8s.6d
total 3V4 acres

Source: EFP 19.07.1876, lc; DRO 1508M/LL1/28; DRO 53/6 Box 103/10.

Annual with
six months

notice

Crops

Some produce was grown for industry. Rape was grown for oil, madder and saffron as
dye plants. 119 The latter was also used as a herb and a remedy against smallpox. This
was a labour intensive crop; three-quarters of the cost of production went on labour, so
production was sometimes used in lieu of poor relief to provide work for poor
labourers. Market gardens near towns such as Bere Regis in Dorset grew liquorice so
that they could take advantage of the street sweepings as manure. 121 Flax was grown in
Devon, at Crewkerne, Whimple, Silverton, Willand, Cullompton, Kentisbeare,
Uffculme, Halberton and Church Stanton in the eighteenth century for the linen
industry. Hemp was produced for rope and net making at Dawlish on the south coast
and at Combe Martin in North Devon, and many other coastal towns where rope was
needed for shipping.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

217

Cornwall was considered to be one of the best districts for vegetable production in the

1870s. 123 The combination of fertile soil and a mild climate suited the production of
early fruit and vegetables. Marketing was helped by the use of the Great Western
Railway which in 1899 allowed up to 8,000 tons of broccoli, 4,500 tons of new potatoes

and 300 tons of strawberries to be exported from the region. 124 By 1907 there were 430
acres under strawberry production in Devon and 650 acres in Cornwall. 'Sir Joseph
Paxton' was a mid season variety introduced in 1862, raised by S. Bradley at Elton
Manor in Nottingham and by the 1870s Laxton's 'Royal Sovereign' were being grown,
being an all round crop suitable for dessert, for canning and jam-making. 125 Early
potatoes were first grown as a commercial market garden crop supplying the local area
and had been sent by sea to London, Plymouth and Portsmouth. The broccoli trade

started in the late 1830s, firstly selling to Bristol, then to London. Other successful
Cornish crops included seakale, asparagus from Padstow and Ludgvan and, from the
glasshouses in the Penzance region, cucumbers, peaches, grapes and tomatoes.

126

Much of the fruit supplied from Devon and Cornwall came from the Tamar valley
which divides the two counties. This is an eight to ten mile stretch of land running from
Saltash up to Launceston on the Cornish side and the Bere Ferrers peninsula running
down to Tamerton Foliot on the Devon side; the growing areas are situated on the

northern banks of streams running into the Tamar. There south facing slopes are as
steep as 34 degrees with gradients of 1 in 1 and 1 in 2, but the steepness of the valley
provides shelter from the prevailing south-west wind. Originally carpeted with oak
woodland the soil was light and fertile, and varied from six inches at the top of the
slopes to about two feet at the bottom. When the build-up of the soil at the bottom
became too great, it was harrowed back to the top of the holding or winched up the hill
with the help of a horse-driven pulley system. Later, ploughing was done using a similar
pulley system with ploughs attached to wires. Although the ground dried out quickly in
times of drought, this was offset by a high average rainfall of nearly fifty inches a year,
a comparatively dry spring and temperatures of 70 degrees Farenheit in the summer.

With such a shallow soil, one of the problems was the need to keep the humus level
high. Leaf mould from the bed of the Tamar was used as a mulch, as was 'dock dung', a
mixture of street sweepings, fish waste, butcher's offal and night soil collected from
Pottery Quay in Plymouth and brought up in barges for just the cost of the transport

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

218

which cost the gardener £3.

127

The smell must have been extremely unpleasant, but the

richness of the manure ensured the strawberry beds stayed fertile for many years and

ensured good crops. The St Dominick region alone produced between 200 and 300 tons

of strawberries a year.

128

Figure 5:7. Cornish shovel

Tools used to counter difficult conditions included

the Tamar valley dibber which was developed to

make vertical holes on steeply sloping ground. The
Cornish shovel (see Figure 5.7), a long handled
spade which ensured large amounts of material
could be moved with less energy than a short
handled tool was also used, as was a special turning

fork and a sclum, which was a manure drag.

129

The parishes of Stoke Climsland, Calstock, St
Dominic and Landulph in Cornwall; Bcre Alston,
Bere Ferrers and Tamerton Foliot in Devon had a
long tradition of supplying fruit and vegetables to
the navy at Plymouth. Bere Ferrers was noted in
White's Directory in 1850 as 'producing vast

quantities of apples, cherries, strawberries,

gooseberries, currants and the finest cider'.

9 130

The

small sweet black mazzard cherries were pickled in

131

brandy to make a liqueur. Mazzards were also
grown in many north Devon parishes, most notably
at Atherington, Goodleigh, Landkey, Bishop's

Tawton, Chittlehampton, Swimbridge

and

132

Tawstock. Strawberries were grown for local
markets and for external sale from the 1 860s. Other

and

crops from the Bere Ferrers area included gooseberries, raspberries
Raspberries and currants were grown on the richer soil lower in the valleys. The
raspberry crop averaged two tons to the acre and was worth £22 a ton. Annually, 75 to
100 tons were despatched to market, worth to the grower £1,500 to £2,000 in 1907. 133
Flower crops included the double-white narcissus first sent by Mr Jackson of Bere

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

219

Alston to London in the 1880s, and which partially superseded the fruit crop on the

Devon side of the Tamar. 134

At Tamerton Foliot the census of 1851 records two nurserymen and a nurseryman's
apprentice, twelve gardeners of which two were almost certainly domestic, two garden
labourers and two garden apprentices as well as Joanna Pearse and Mary Pote who were
listed as 'gardeners'. By 1881 there were 16 non domestic gardeners including one with
eleven acres, nine domestic gardeners, six market gardeners and seven garden labourers.
Also in the parish there were two market women, a manure agent and Bessie Pengelly,
who combined the occupations of dressmaker and carter. There were also several small
farmers. 135 Directories of 1866 and 1878 listed two further nurserymen and four other

either census, and by 1897 fourteen marl

;ory, Ellis, Finnimore and Packer families

136

These figures demonstrate the increase in the market gardening industry in this area as
the century progressed.

Cherries and cider apples were first grown in the valley, not in neat rows, but
haphazardly planted in untidy orchards. The cherry crop had always been important
to the region. In the 1850s fruit transported to Plymouth, London and the Midlands
fetched from between 2d and 5d per pound. Produce was sent by market-boats from
Morwellham Quay or Halton Quay. R. T. Paige estimated that one barge could carry the
equivalent of fifty carts each with a carter or 500 pack-horses with many drovers. 138

The strawberry crop was the second most important crop until James Walter Lowry

young tenant farmer from St Domimc visited the International Exhibition in London in
1862. Seeing the high prices of strawberries for sale, he realised it would be worthwhile
to send his strawberry crops to the city via the railway. Once started in business himself,
he then bought up local produce for re-sale, encouraging local growers to expand into
growing more strawberries. This led to better prices for local gardeners as the fruit was
sold for 2s 6d per pound in London and the Midlands. 139 By 1881 Lowry, a Wesleyan
preacher, farmed 80 acres with help from five labourers, two boys and six women. 140 In
1889, 300 tons of strawberries were carried from the region by the Great Western
Railway. 141 An alternative market was to provide the local areas such as Calstock with
strawberries for strawberry teas supplied to day trippers. 142

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

220

Figure 5:8. St Dominick gardeners and punnet makers 1881

Forename

Last
Name

Relate M* Age Occupation

Mary
Mary Jane

Bennett Dau

Bennett Dau'L M

14 Punnet Maker
35 Market Gardener

Stenhen

Bennett

Son

42 Market Gardener

Marv

Bennett

Head

77 Market Gardener

Rosa

Cradick

Dau

1 6 Punnet Maker

Elizabeth A

Doney

Dau

1 4 Punnet Maker

John

Harris

Serv

29 Gardener Domestic Servant

John

Herring

Son

1 4 Gardener (ND)

Elizabeth

Herring

Dau

1 6 Punnet Maker

Eliza

Herring

Dau

1 8 Punnet Maker

Ann

Hill

Niece

1 6 Punnet Maker

Mary

Hill

Head

48 Punnet Maker

John

Hoskin

Son

1 7 Assistant Gardener (ND)

Bessie

Hughes

Dau

1 1 Punnet Maker

Harriet

Hughes

Dau

14 Punnet Maker

Georee

Jope

Head

40 Fruit Grower & Market Gardener

Samuel

Knight

Head

65 Market Gardener

Elizabeth

Martin

Dau

1 5 Punnet Maker

Mary Jane

Martin

Dau

29 Punnet Maker

Bessie

Reep

Dau

1 3 Punnet Maker

William

Sargent

Son

1 3 Punnet Maker (Basket)

Charlotte

Sargent

Dau

2 1 Punnet Maker

Mary Elizth,

Sleeman Dau

24 Punnet Maker

Emma

Smale

Dau

1 4 Punnet Maker

Benjamin

Snell

Head

36 Fruit Grower & Market Gardener

Selina

Striplin

Dau

19 Gardener Assistant (7/3)

Nicholas

Striplin

Son

22 Punnet Maker

William Baker Striplin

Head

62 Market Gardener

Bessie

Trenance Dau

1 7 Punnet Maker

Francis

Vosper

Head

29 Gardener (ND)

William S

Vosper

Head

57 Butcher and Market Gardener

Daniel

Vosper

Head

67 Gardener (ND) 5 1 12 acres emp. 1 man

Bessie

Wadge

Dau

1 3 (Punnet Maker (Basket)

♦Marital status U: Unmarried; M: Married; W: Widow.

Source: 1881 Census St Dominick Parish on CD.

The strawberry season began at the end of May with the fruit being picked, mostly by
women paid Is 3d a day, and packed into circular punnets which held between half and
three quarters of a pound of fruit each. These were packed, 54 at a time, into wooden
boxes, the fruit being protected with ferns. Protection was so important that one man or
boy was delegated to cut the ferns and lay them out ready for packing. 143

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

221

The punnets were described in the 1881 census returns as a 'small pot for strawberries
(willow)*. 144 Punnet making provided work as a cottage industry for which women and
children were paid lOd to Is a gross. At St Dominick in 1881, seventeen females and
two males were listed as punnet makers. The youngest was 11 and the oldest was 48.
All were unmarried. Together with known market gardeners and other gardeners, the
industry involved at least 24 families in a small area where there were only 830 people
listed on the census return (see Figure 5:8). 145

The Hutchings family, Emma senior, her daughters Emma and Mary were punnet
makers at Bere Ferrers in 1891, and Emma junior in 1901, whereas the Richards family
were all involved in basket making. John and son Thomas were basket makers and
John's unmarried daughters, Mary, 46 and Elizabeth, 44 were 'dealers in baskets'. 146

Improved communication routes opened up new markets for growers. Strawberries,
narcissi and cherries were exported from outlying areas such as the Tamar valley to
large cities, in particular to London, Bristol and Manchester. Despite the cost of carriage

some market gardeners grew rich as a result. This enabled them to rent larger plots or

own land. Jebb quotes several instances

This

happening from the 1860s. Samuel Crump of Alphington, George Gale at Salcombe
Regis and William Greenslade at Broadclyst were all agricultural labourers who took on
market gardens during this period, enhancing their social status. 147 Duncan Mitchell
suggests this was possible due to improving wages and available small-holdings for
rental. 148 It was also led by a demand for vegetables to supply growing urban markets.

One of Jebb' s examples included a labourer's son who by 1907 occupied a farm of 150
acres, a labourer who was able to purchase five acres of land for £100 and the son of
another labourer, then owning land worth £20,000. Significantly, 'out of 423 holdings
of over five acres, 107 [were] occupied by men who [were] labourers, or the sons of
labourers'. 149 Many miners had reclaimed wasteland and worked small plots of land for
their own use and as mining failed they began to work their land more intensively. This
is borne out by the census returns for the Tamar valley, but was also a factor at Combe
Martin where John Blackmore, for example, changed his profession from lead miner to
market gardener. 150 In Calstock at least six labourers (James Langsford, John Lang,

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

222

Francis Luscombe, Nathaniel Sandercock, Thomas Rickard and William Warwick),
together with six tin and copper miners (John Davey, John Richards, Thomas Statton,
James Fitze, Joseph Start and Start Treby), became gardeners as did one cordwainer
(Thomas Baker), and Nicholas Clark, a former broom-maker. 151

Most of the holdings in the Tamar valley were family concerns; it was rare to use
outside labour. John Toll at Bere Ferrers had help from his wife and two daughters.
William Striplin at St Dominick employed one daughter and one son on his market
garden, two other daughters and his wife took produce to market and another son was a
punnet maker. Mary Bennett worked her market garden with her son and daughter-in-
law. However, some farmers and market gardeners did regularly employ help. Daniel
Vosper employed one man on his five and a half acres, and at Bere Ferrers Thomas

Daw employed two labourers and Joseph Procter employed two men and a boy. These

last two were farming and gardening.

152

Working Practices

Using information from the 1851 and 1881 Devon census, fifty eight market gardeners
had sons working with them, three had daughters and in five cases the wife was also
listed as a market gardener. Nieces, nephews and grandsons were also recorded as
helpers. In addition some gardeners recorded employing outside help. Two gardeners
had apprentices, three had garden assistants helping them. There were rarely more than
three men employed regularly although Maria Pyne of Topsham employed seven men,
two women and a boy on her nineteen acres in Topsham in 1881. The other gardener to
record employing women was George Pyne, also of Topsham, who employed three men
and two women. This is not to say that women were not regularly employed in market
gardens; most of their work was seasonal so they were not recorded in the census. The
largest number of employees recorded by a market gardener was by Charles Sclater who
employed ten men and four boys, but although he described himself in the census as a
market gardener, he was more of a nurseryman. This number is small compared to
another nurseryman, James Veitch, who employed 65 men and 7 boys to work on 47
acres. This indicates a major difference in working practices of nurserymen and market
gardeners. However labour intensive market gardening was at busy times of the year,
there was neither the money, nor the work to employ a large staff all the year round. As
it was the cost of fruit picking was estimated to be 25 percent of the value of the crop.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

223

James Barnes, of Bicton, spent his early years in a succession of market gardens in and
around London where he gained experience in a variety of methods of fruit and
vegetable growing. He spent four years with a cucumber and mushroom grower who
also grew grapes, pineapples and melons and forced early fruits and flowering plants.
He then went to a garden where he had charge of 1000 lights of framing plus 2600 hand
and bell glasses for cucumbers, melons and early potatoes and for forcing asparagus and
sea-kale. He moved on to work with a grower of grapes, peaches, pines and
strawberries, who also grew salads, fruit and vegetables. From there he went to a grower
of outdoor fruit where there were 26 acres under the spade and 6000 lights and 1200
hand and bell glasses.

According to Barnes, wages were paid either daily, twice or three times a week or on a
Saturday evening. Lodgings for a worker was not easy to come by and expensive,
sometimes taking a quarter of his wages. 'I have worked and been paid, at the rate often

days a week, but generally worked and was paid for eight days through the season'. In
other words, there was constant work, some of it piece work. To be paid eight days a
week was a form of overtime pay, acknowledging that the worker was working far
longer hours than for a normal day. Most of the workmen on this latter garden were
Irish and, according to Barnes, very hard workers. He had not long been in Devon when
this was written and his admiration for the market garden labourers is very apparent. 153

Larger gardens such as those around London employed many men and women at
various times throughout the year to undertake such tasks as caterpillar picking,
planting, weeding, hoeing and harvesting. The labour cost of the Neat House gardens
near Westminster, was estimated at £35 per acre at the end of the eighteenth century,

out of total costs of £80 per year. 154 All market gardeners worked long hours. An early
start was essential to pick produce at its best and not dried out by the heat of the day.
Carriers left early to transport produce to a station or market.

The experience Barnes gained through his work in the market gardens was to stand him
in good stead for the future. He became an expert in growing pineapples, and wrote a
book entitled The Pineapple; its culture, uses and history, and co-wrote a book on
asparagus culture with William Robinson. A prolific writer for Gardener's Magazine he
gave advice on vegetable production, garden tools and a variety of propagating methods
and regularly wrote the kitchen garden section of The Cottage Gardener. Barnes

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

224

estimated the cost to the market gardener of rent, taxes, manure and horses to average
£50 per acre. Although he does not say so, these costs almost certainly excluded that of
labour. While these costs indicate the degree of potential profit in the business, they also
demonstrate the risks if weather was poor or if crops failed. By the end of the nineteenth
century turnover was high for those involved in market gardening. The estimated value
of crops from Worthing was £20,000 for tomatoes and £14,000 for other crops. 155

In the right areas there was plenty of money to be made in the industry. However,
according to a letter written by R.L. from West Sussex in The Garden, very little of this
filtered down to the workers who considered themselves 'undervalued', overworked and
poorly paid. Wages were set at 16s a week for outdoor workers, 17s to 18s a week for
those working under glass, this to compensate for working an additional fifteen hours on

a Sunday rota to stoke boilers and ventilate greenhouses. Goodchild suggests wages
averaged 15s a week in the Tamar valley at the end of the nineteenth century, this was
somewhat less than wages earned in Middlesex where there was competition from
London labour markets and where the wages could be as high as 18s a week for men
and 12s for women. By the first decade of the twentieth century Jebb stated that garden
workers in the Tamar valley could receive from 22s to 25s a week fruit picking with
women earning 16s to 18s and children up to 12s, but this work would only have been
available at harvest time. 156 Despite these comparatively high wages, when an ordinary
agricultural labourer might get 10s to 12s a week (albeit with a cottage), Bennett
comments that plenty of labour kept wages low and people could be dismissed for
minor offences such as 'neglect', 'stopping on the road', 'idleness' or for complaining
about their wages.

The normal hours were 62 a week, in summer during daylight hours usually 5 am until 7
pm, and in winter 6 am to 6 pm, working by lamplight when necessary. Overtime was
paid at 4d an hour. This compares with 2d an hour for most private gardeners (see
Chapter Three). Foremen were considered to be no better than 'slaves'. They had the
responsibility to produce good crops and were therefore on duty 24 hours a day for a
weekly pay of 22s in Sussex, 25s in Middlesex. However, if the crops were good, a
bonus of 1 s per ton on a tomato crop or 1 s for every 1 00 dozen cucumbers picked could
be given. 'J.L.' wrote in response to a previous article about the amount of fruit sent
from Worthing in a year, which he says was 30 tons a week for three months and an
average of five tons a week for the other nine months. 158 This could increase a

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

225

foreman's pay by a considerable amount, making the job worthwhile

and long hours. The

management

workforce, was invaluable if a gardener wanted to move to his own
Barnes, obtain a position as head gardener on an estate garden.

That

some gardeners purchased property of their own. William Milford, market gardener of
Tiverton bought a well-stocked walled garden with stable and coach house in the centre
of Washfield in 1890 with approximately half an acre 'well adapted for the erection of a

Gentlemen's Residence' for £11 1. 159 Although he may have been interested in the
garden, it is doubtful that he would have paid that money for such a small amount of
land unless he had the intention of building a house on the property. He was more likely
looking to build a retirement home so that his son could take over the farmhouse in
Tiverton. Thomas Northcott of Laira Place, Plymouth, on his death, left property (three

houses) and money valued at £2,062. 10s.9d.

160

When growing vegetables it was possible to take three crops a year if there was a
sufficient area of glass to prolong the growing period. Trench gardening' was practised
at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. This was an
intensive system of narrow beds covered with frame lights and bell jars. It was generally
salad crops that were grown using this method, but it was also suitable for cabbages,
cauliflowers, turnips, tomatoes and melons. The system was not used a great deal in the
south-west, probably because the climate was sufficiently mild that it was possible to
grow three crops a year out of doors without glass. It was popular however at
Bengeworth in Worcestershire, Mayland in Essex and Thatcham in Berkshire. 161

Vegetables were planted in rows, interplanted with faster growing crops or grown in
raised beds. Cornish gardeners used a system of planting potatoes between rows of
brussels sprouts in order to use the land more intensively. 162

Trench digging was practised by many gardeners. The ground was dug over once by
spade to remove weeds, then a second time to add manure. Full trenching excavated the
land to two spade depths. 163 This could be done before each crop was planted, ensuring
that some ground was dug at least three times a year which was an alternative method of
increasing fertility in the soil.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

226

Manures

As the notion of soil fertility was understood gardeners looked for cheap and effective
manures and fertilisers. All gardeners made the use of a large range of materials to use
to add fertility to their land. Organic matter included farmyard manure, dung from pigs,
sheep, cattle and horses. Peat was taken from the moors. Soot was purchased from the
local sweep, mixed with animal dung then stirred into water and allowed to settle. The
resulting liquor made a simple but powerful stimulant. Soot was also painted on fruit
trees to prevent birds from eating the buds. 164 Near the coast, bone manure and guano
were imported, the latter from Bolivia, Peru and Texas. 165 Guano was supplied at thirty
shillings for a ton. There were several suppliers in the county including George Lacey at
Okehampton, Edward Mortimore at Ashburton and William Rendle in Plymouth. 166

Pigot's Directory proclaimed an 'excellent manure is formed by the mixture of lime and

• 167

earth with bruised and damaged pilchards, and the refuse salt used in curing them'.
Gardeners made their own compost from leaves and waste material.

Inorganic manures included ashes from wood, coal, soot, charcoal, lime and coprolites
(the fossilised excrement of animals). Marl was added to heavy land. Gardeners made
full use of living near the coast to collect seaweed from the rocks at Saltash, sea salt
from Hartland, Bude and Bigbury and, as stated in Thompson's Gardener's Assistant:

In Devonshire and Cornwall, immense quantities of shell-sand, a calcareous
sand, consisting chiefly of sand and the remains of shells, together with a little
organic matter - are carried many miles inland, for the purpose of applying it to
the land. 168

Seaweed cost 6d per load, and 'beach' 5d per load. 169 Marl, ashes, lime and farmyard
manure were also used. Fraser recommended a compost mixture of sand, mud from
lanes and dung. 170 These were supplemented with river dredgings, stable manure and
street sweepings. 171 Dung and ashes were bought at Kitley in 1832, culm in 1854, mud

and ashes at Horsweii. 172 Peat purchased from Walkhampton, and Yettington Commons
was used by private gardeners and nurserymen alike. 173 Any substance that would rot
down was utilized, such as night-soil, bones, blood and skins of animals. 174 From the
1860s manufactured manures became more popular with gardeners, 'bone dust' was
used at Blackpool in 1866 and at Stevenstone in 1877 and 'artificial manure' (super-
phosphate) was purchased from Lawes & Co in 1880 for Blackpool 175 With a high

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners 227

guano, initially imported from Peru in 1835, was another

which proved very popular with gardeners.

176

Market gardeners offered a refuse collection service which benefited both themselves
and local businesses. However, most manures smelt very unpleasant and, where market
gardens were based in towns, there were curfews for transporting the material so that it
would not cause offence. Several men were prosecuted for breaking this curfew to
collect or deliver manure in Exeter. With their names on their carts, which acted as
advertisements, it must have been easy to identify these men. Henry King of Union
Road, Exeter St Sidwell's was prosecuted for carting manure through the town at 4.15
pm. He claimed it was horse manure and therefore not 'noisome'. 177 John Capron's men

carting * putrid dung' through the streets on the morning

September 1858. He said he was unaware that his men were late. 178 George Salter,
working on behalf of Charles Sclater, was fined 10s including expenses for 'taking out a
load of dung in a putrid state from a slaughterhouse'. His defence was that he thought
he could go out at any time after nine o'clock at night.

179

Pests and disease were a constant problem to the gardener. Blight attacked gooseberry
bushes, onions, parsnips beans and potatoes. Birds ate buds from fruit trees, mice ate
peas and rabbits ate emerging crops. 180 Remedies were found to deal with these.

Tobacco was used for a multitude of ills; inside the greenhouse as vapour and on fruit
bushes as a wash. Many remedies were often labour intensive; ideas were passed from
gardener to gardener by word of mouth or through gardening journals. For example, a
tip from a market gardener to make ridges over young peas as they appear to prevent
birds from pecking out the tips was passed on to one of the editors of The Garden. He
then included it as a short item in the journal advising other gardeners of the method. 181
Children were employed to scare birds which were also shot or trapped. Caterpillars
were picked from bushes by hand by women and children. An alternative method was to

syringe with a mixture of hellebore or foxglove boiled in water. 182 A mole and rat
catcher would be paid by the numbers of animals caught, mousetraps would be set in
greenhouses every night. Rabbits and hares had been protected as game to be available
to be hunted by the owner of the land, but the 1881 Ground Game Act allowed

leases. 183

land to destroy these pests despite any clauses to the contrary

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

228

Advice for market gardeners came from contemporary journals. The two most popular
were the Journal of Horticulture (weekly 3d) and Gardener's Chronicle established in
1841 available Fridays at 5d. 184 Other specialist journals also catered exclusively for the
horticultural trade, most notably Horticultural Adviser (started in Nottingham in 1883),

the Horticultural Times (1885), Covent Market Gazette, Market Record (also 1885) and

Journal of Greengrocery, Fruit and Flowers and Greengrocer, Fruiterer and Market
Gardener (1895). The Garden too had a regular column written by market gardeners
such as James Groom of Gosport, reporting on what was in season, which was the best
variety to plant, different methods of planting and, of great importance to all gardeners,
the weather. It is not clear whether smaller market gardeners would have had access to
these or would have had time to read them. Books sold for the use of gardeners included
Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Gardening and his Encyclopaedia of Agriculture. The local
press such as the Exeter Flying Post also printed extracts from the Gardener's
Chronicle for local readers. 185

Some questions in the Royal Horticultural Society examinations for gardeners were
specifically aimed at those selling vegetables. For example, question number '13' in
1894 asked the student to 'Describe the culture of Cucumbers and Tomatoes under glass
and show their value as crops for market purposes'. 186 Masters and Douglas, examiners
were worried that:

...many young gardeners and mechanics, who cultivate small gardens and
allotments, but who have not had the opportunity of regular tuition and
systematic study, have taken a lower place than they otherwise would have done,
because, they have failed to grasp the significance of the questions. 187

It was considered important by forward thinking gardeners that there should be an
interchange of ideas. Gardeners corresponded with each other, not only within Britain,
but also with gardeners in Europe. The French style of market gardening was considered
by some to be superior to the English and many gardeners went to France to learn their
techniques. As the reputation of British trained gardeners improved, this became a
reciprocal arrangement and the 'Soci6t6 Francaise d' Horticulture de Londres' was set
up to promote the exchange of English and French trainees. 188

Practical help also came from horticultural associations and societies. The Agricultural
and Horticultural Association was founded bv R O. Greenina in 1867 for market

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

229

gardeners around London. This acted as a co-operative society for bulk sales and
purchase. 189 Other co-operative societies were set up for marketing produce, but these
mostly benefited those areas where there was intensive growing such as at Pershore in
Worcestershire. 190 Strawberries were grown by the Chartist Co-operative Land Society
on the 280 acre estate at Dodford near Kidderminster. Varieties included 'Sir Charles
Napier', Taxton', 'President' and 'Scarlet Carolina', the latter for jam. 191 Exhibitions
were arranged by horticultural and agricultural societies to showcase perfect examples
of garden produce, but the former seemed to be mostly aimed at private gardeners and
nurserymen rather than market gardeners.

Markets

Early market gardeners sold most of their produce direct to local markets which were

held in nearby towns. Jonathan Barry estimates that, in the early modem period, very

few parts of the south west were more than seven miles from a market town. This would
have enabled the gardener (or more often his wife or daughter) to reach the market, sell
their goods and return home again on the same day. 192 Although later some of these
markets failed there were sufficient outlets to support the sale of vegetables.
Commercial gardeners supplied victualling yards for the navy and helped to provision
hospitals and prisons. Devon's ports, including Plymouth, Exeter, Dartmouth,
Teignmouth, Brixham, Bideford and Barnstaple all had markets and market gardeners
supplying the navy and passing merchant shipping. 193 For example market gardeners at
Eggbuckland were supplying potatoes, cabbage, carrots, turnips and beans to the
Plymouth market. 194

Another outlet for gardeners was institutions which had large numbers of people to feed
and even where they had a garden of their own, still needed regular supplies of staples.
Institutions inviting tenders from gardeners were the Royal Victualling Office in
London which required vegetables to be supplied for the Royal Naval hospitals at
Haslar and Plymouth. 195 Tenders to supply 'Greens, Leeks and Potherbs', were also
requested, not only for the hospitals at Plymouth, but also for 'the care and custody of
Prisoners of War'. Suppliers in this case had to have guarantors who were prepared to
put up a bond of £100 which lasted for the duration of the contract. 196 These tenders

were for one year and were to be paid for 4 by bills, bearing interest, 90 days after date'.

The Plymouth Victualling Office specified which vegetables were needed, these

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

230

included cabbages or greens, onions or leeks, turnips, potatoes and carrots. In the first
decade of the nineteenth century John Boon of Eggbuckland, John Helson of Thornhill
and John Boon of Plymouth all had contracts with the Victualling Board to supply,
'cabbages (stript of roots & stalks) or greens, onions (dry and green) or leeks as
required'. Root crops would only be accepted in the case of, 'absolute necessity from
failure of crops' of cabbages and greens. Each year, as competition increased, the price
of the tenders were reduced. From 1803 to 1806 the quoted price for onions or leeks had
almost halved from 9s 9Vzd to 4s 10!4d per hundredweight. 198

Other institutions requesting tenders for various supplies included the St Thomas'
Union Workhouse which required a regular supply of potatoes to feed the inmates. In
1880, '120 score' of potatoes were required to be delivered fortnightly to the

workhouse. Before the Union was formed the Corporation of the Poor in Exeter
advertised for various commodities including 'good boiling pease'. 199

The most important market in London for produce was Covent Garden Market. This
ancient market which had been in existence since a charter was granted by Charles II to
William the first Duke of Bedford in 1670, was the central collecting place for produce
from all over the country. Here buyers from stores and hotels would come to purchase
vegetables and flowers. Produce was delivered to the market in the early morning.
Strawberries were packed in punnets, then in boxes, tomatoes in strikes or pecks each
holding twelve pounds. Up to two thousand hampers of cucumbers were received into
the market daily between March and July.

The cost of sending produce to market varied according to the type of transport used.
Produce that was shipped down the Tamar to Plymouth was charged at five shillings a
ton. 201 Before the railways, Russell's carriers charged 14d per ton per mile for
'groceries' transported between Plymouth and Exeter. 202

Market gardeners had a poor reputation for selling underweight quantities of vegetables.
However, if they were caught then they could be fined. Robert Heard of Exeter St
Thomas, for example was prosecuted for having a 141b weight without a ring, which
meant it was underweight by almost a pound, as well as other 'deficient' weights. His
defence was that he never used these particular weights. However, he was found guilty
and fined 5 s and costs. 203

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

231

Women as Market Gardeners

Figure 5:9 Occupations of Devon market gardener's wives

Name

Occupation

Parish

Date

Mary Cummings

Agricultural Labourer

Thorverton

1 OOl

1881

Caroline Bidgood

Assistant Market Gardener

Alphmgton

1 O O 1

1881

Elizabeth Horn

Assistant Market Gardener

Sidbury

1 DO 1

1881

Hannah Hortop

Domestic Servant

St Budeaux

1 OO 1

1881

Sarah Drew

Dressmaker

Topsham

1881

Sarah Lowe

Dressmaker

Tormoham

1 OO 1

1881

Susan Taylor

Dressmaker

Rewe

1881

Jane Lakeman

Gardener s Wife

a^"i j i r\ 1

Stoke Damerel

1 O O 1

1881

Mana Actey

Glover

Chittlehampton

1 OO 1

1881

Mary Distin

Green Grocer

Paignton

1 O O 1

1881

Elizabeth Passmore

Greengrocer

Exeter Holy Tnmty

1 OO 1

1881

Harriet Hockaday

Grocer

Dawlish

1 OOl

lool

Charlotte Hart

t m x 1

Lace Maker

Bicton

1 OO 1

1881

* ^^^^ ^ d A

Emily Elliott

Lace Maker

Colaton Raleigh

tool

1881

Mary Cole

Laundress

Tamerton Fohot

1881

Bessie Pudner

Laundress

Compton Gilford

1881

Maria Wollacott

Laundress

Tormoham

1881

Mary Pane

Laundress

Tormoham

1881

Susanna Fey

Laundress

St Budeaux

1851

Mary Way

Laundress

Kingsteignton

1 O O 1

1881

Johanna Tozer

Lodging House Keeper

Paignton

1881

Mana Tucker

Lodging House Keeper

Ilfracombe

*4 O O 4

1881

Mary Gilson

Market Gardener

Tormoham

1851

Ann Broad

Market Gardener

Broad Clist

1881

Mary Hearns

Market Gardener

Silverton

1881

Sarah Harris

Market Gardener

Woodbury

1881

Sarah Morrish

Market Gardener

West Teignmouth

1881

Mary Northcott

Market Gardener

Pennycross

1881

Ellen Pearce

Market Woman

Topsham

1881

Sarah Drew

Milkmaid

Topsham

1881

Joan Welsman

Schoolmistress

Honiton

1851

Elizabeth Tucker
Caroline Coles

Shopkeeper
Washerwoman

Cheriton Fitzpaine

East Budleieh

1881

Source: Devon Census 1851; Devon Census 1881.

The majority of women market gardeners had carried on the business when widowed,
sometimes with the help of sons, grandsons or nephews. In the 1881 Devon census there
were thirty four women who recorded their occupation as market gardener, twenty-five
of these were widows, six were wives, two unmarried. Mary Northcott of Pennycross
was listed as both head and wife. Jesse Horn was an unmarried daughter aged 22 and
Eliza Davey aged 32 was niece to Ann Sercombe market gardener at Exeter Holy
Trinity. Eleven further market gardeners were listed in directories as 'Mrs', although

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

232

this could have been a courtesy title; it is likely that they were widows too. Women who
worked alongside their husbands often listed their occupation as 'wife' and nineteen per
cent had done so, suggesting a high proportion of women were actively helping in the
gardens. Many more would have helped their husbands, but this was not stated on the
census returns, there being much under-recording of women's occupation in the later
census. 204 It was usually the women's job to take surplus fruit and vegetables to market
or to sell it from their own homes and several women took this one stage further by
setting up in business as market women, greengrocers and fruiterers.

Market gardeners' wives and children often worked to provide an additional income. Of
the few who had recorded an occupation, the most common was as market gardener,
with laundress coming second and dressmaker third. However, other occupations were

listed such as, milkmaid, lace-maker, grocer, greengrocer, market woman and
shopkeeper (see Figure 5:9). The latter four occupations demonstrate the link with

market gardening. Children were often apprenticed to a trade, daughters followed their
mothers as dressmakers or laundresses and sons followed a variety of trades, including
carpenters, tailors, warehousemen, butchers and labourers. Many helped with their
parents in the gardens, listed as garden assistant, gardener, or 'helps at home'.

205

Women who worked in market gardens did not have an easy life although they worked

indoors during the worst of the winter on a variety of tasks from mending sacks to
sorting potatoes. They prepared cuttings of fruit bushes and made pegs for layering.
Outdoor winter work included pulling turnips and sprout picking. In the spring they
picked and bunched early flowers such as violets and wallflowers. Other jobs through
the year included stone-picking and weeding, harvesting fruit and vegetables. Paid from

a third to two fifths of men's wages, they did not have to start until 8 am in winter, but
in summer could be strawberry picking from three o'clock in the morning. 206 Their
dress was unsuitable for outdoor work especially in wet weather as skirts became wet
and heavy and took a long time to dry. Alfred Austin commented: 207

The clothing of women employed in field-labour would appear to be
inadequate.. .The upper parts of the underclothes of women at work even their

through with perspiration, whilst the lower parts

cannot escape getting equally

unfrequently happens that a woman

returning home from work, is obliged to go to bed for an hour

means uncommon

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

233

do this, to put them on again the next morning nearly as wet as when she took
them off.

In addition to working in the field married women still had to manage the housekeeping
at home and care for children.

Competition

There was a strong competitive spirit between gardeners on estates, in nurseries and in
market gardens. Their aim was to produce the largest, the tastiest (these two did not
always go together), the best quality, the earliest or rarest vegetables and fruit. Growers
around large cities faced competition from rural growers. They also faced higher labour
rates as there was more alternative employment in towns than in the countryside.

By the end of the century, market gardeners were also facing competition from abroad.
Cauliflowers were imported from Italy, apples from America, pears, plums and cherries

from Europe. The value of imports of raw fruit from abroad had risen to over five and a
half million pounds, an increase in two and a quarter million from 1871. In 1894 Alfred
George, a former head gardener at Bicton, advised gardeners to 'pay greater attention to
the cultivation of apples*. He warned that the Canadians were exporting 70,000 barrels
of apples weekly into England and thought that Devon gardeners and farmers 'could
grow apples equal to if not better than those of Canada'. 208 However, competition
helped as an incentive to look for better stocks and improved methods of gardening.

Summary

There had to be the right combination of climate, soil and situation to enable a market
gardening industry to grow at a distance from major markets. Devon not only has the
South Hams, which has a combination of good soil, mild climate and plenty of rainfall,
but also North Devon has warm sheltered valleys. Both south and north Devon had
access to the coast and later to the railways for transport to markets. The Tamar valley
had river transport to Plymouth.

Land had to be available which was not already utilised for other purposes such as
industry, sport or housing. Market gardening seemed to be successful in areas where
there was an absent landlord. This appears to be true at Evesham where the Dean and
Chapter of Westminster owned much of the land. 209 Much of the Devon side of the
Tamar valley was owned by the Duke of Bedford who continued the pastoral economy

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

234

encouraged by the previous owners, the Benedictine Abbey of Tavistock. Lord
Mount Edgcumbe was also a major landholder in the region. At Evesham and in the
Tamar valley there were many small farms and hamlets rather than large tracts of land
and in the case of the latter, it would have been difficult to farm in any other way on
such steep slopes.

Rents were affordable when there was not a bill for regular labour. Plots were small and
rents not all due at the same time, which helped. Land was often sold in small lots, and
crops were sufficiently rewarding to enable the more successful grower to lease or
purchase his own land.

Where there was no overall landlord such as at Combe Martin there were many small
landowners. Twenty-five per cent of the gardeners identified in this parish occupied
between \V% and 8V4 acres of land including Edwin and Isaac Challacombe, the Creeks,
and Thomas Ridge. 211

Local markets provided a nearby outlet with minimal costs of carriage. More lucrative
markets further afield were only worth growing for if the cost of carriage could be offset
by the revenue received. Nineteenth century railways opened up distant markets for
some growers, but led to a loss of gardens within large urban areas. One small plot
'behind the Red Cow Inn* at St David's in Exeter comprising one acre and eight perches
was advertised for sale as 'capable of being converted into a delightful cottage
residence, in a romantic and picturesque situation'. This had been let to John Burnett as
a yearly tenant and was described as nursery or garden ground. Compensation paid
for garden stocks however, could have led to increased capital for reinvestment. The
railways had their own advantages, increasing the tourist industry locally which led to a
demand for soft fruit such as raspberries and strawberries for cream teas. Gardeners
were forced to move to the outskirts of towns as many gardens were sold for residential
homes. Heavitree, Topsham, Alphington and Kenton became market gardening areas
around Exeter, and Plymouth too was surrounded by growers taking advantage of the
sea and river transport.

The combination of spade labour, the heavy use of manure, hotbeds and glass, and inter-
cropping methods of the market gardeners surrounding London, produced more and
varied produce compared to that of the local farmers. Yield per acre for market

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

235

farmer

plough the yield was only £50 per acre. 213 Productivity of market gardeners was so high

owners ur

:ns to increase the amount of fruit and

214

One of the reasons why so many varieties of vegetables and fruit were grown was to
increase the period when fresh fruit and vegetables were available. Another was due to
problems of storage. Different produce had different maturity times thus extending the
growing season. New methods, encouraged by better communication between
gardeners, led to increasing output throughout the century.

There was a fine line in some areas between market gardening and work undertaken by
nurserymen, but generally market gardeners sold direct in a market or had a shop on the
premises or to which they sent their supplies. Webber maintains that it was because

nurserymen sold direct to the gentry and the general public that they became better
known than most market gardeners. However, some who started their careers as
market gardeners became nurserymen as did the Sclaters of Exeter and the Treseders of
Truro. 216 Assbee in 1897, while admiring the old fashioned market gardeners of Queen
Victoria's reign, looked forward when he said:

let us be thankful that his place is being so well filled with sons and successors
possessing all the sterling good qualities of the father, and in addition thereto a
superior education, newer and wider ideas of business, and an energy,
perseverance, and skill in production which have raised our market gardening
industry into a position of the highest national importance 217

1 Exeter Flying Post (EFP) 17.03.1785, 2d.

2 William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon including The City of Exeter
2 nd edn (Sheffield and London, 1850); Census PRO HO107 Filleigh, 1851; Census PRO RG11 Bishop's
Hull, Somerset, 1881.

3 EFP 30.07.1879, 7f; 25.03.1889, le; 28.11.1889, le.

4 J. Assbee, 'The Progress of Market Garden Cultivation During Queen Victoria's Reign', Journal of the
Royal Horticultural Society (JRHS) 21:3 (1898), 393-412., 393.

5 Sarah Wilmot, 'Farming in the Nineteenth Century', in Historical Atlas of South-West England ed by
Roger Kain and William Ravenhill (Exeter, 1999), 269-272, 270.

6 PRO RG11 1881 British Census and National Index: England, Scotland Wales, Channel Islands, Isle
of Man and Royal Navy: Southwestern Region, Devon, Cornwall (Church of the Latter Day Saints, 1999)
[CD-ROM].

Census (1881) Vol HI, ages, condition as to marriage, occupations and birth-places of the people (PP
1883, LXXX).

8 Census PRO RG11 1881 [CD]; Census (1851): population tables, part II: ages, civil condition,
occupations and birth-places of the people (PP 1854, LXXXVIII vol 1); Census (1881) ages; PRO

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

236

HO107 1851 British Census Devon, Norfolk and Warwick Only (Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day
Saints: 1997) [CD-ROM].

9 J. M. Martin, 'The Social and Economic Origins of the Vale of Evesham Market Gardening Industry' in
Agricultural History Review (AgHR) 33.1 (1985), 41-50.

10 Census Enumerators ' Returns; Kelly 's Directory of Devonshire ( 1 883); White 's Directory of
Devonshire (1878-9).

11 Census PRO RG11, 1881 [CD].

12 Census?RORGU 9 1881 [CD].

13 Robin Stanes, 'Devon Agriculture in the mid-eighteenth century: The evidence of the Milles enquiries'
in The South-west and the Land ed by M.A. Havinden and Celia M. King (Exeter 1969), 43-65, 55;
Robert Fraser, General View of the County of Devon with Observations on the Means of its Improvement
[1794] repr. (Barnstaple, 1970), 70.

* 4 Census PRO RG11, 1881 [CD]; PRO RG12 Plympton St Mary, 1891 [ microfiche].

15 Combe Martin Local History Group, Out of The World and Into Combe Martin (Combe Martin, 1989),

163.

16 J. C. Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (London, 1822), 1201.

17 Assbee, 'Market Garden', 393.

18 L. Jebb, The Small Holdings of England: A Survey of Various Existing Systems (London, 1907).

19 Jebb, Small Holdings, 267-8.

20 Frank Booker, Industrial Archaeology of the Tamar Valley (Newton Abbot, 1967), 228-239.

21 Ronald Webber, Market Gardening: The History of Commercial Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Growing
(Newton Abbot, 1972), 166.

22 Webber, Market Gardening,\66.

23 Kelly's (1897); Census PRO RG12-13, CombeMartin, 1891, 1901;PROHO107 CombeMartin, 1851
[CD].

24 NDRO P88 (1890); North Devon Athenaeum 20/10J.

25 W. G. Hoskins, Devon (London, 1954; repr. 1959), 94.

26 Charles Vancouver, General View of the Agriculture of the County of Devon [London, 1808]; repr.
(Newton Abbot, 1969), 235.

27 Michael Duffy, 'The Establishment of the Western Squadron as the Linchpin of British Naval Strategy'
in Parameters of British Naval Power 1650-1850 ed. by Michael Duffy (Exeter, 1992), 68.

28 H. W. Strong, Industries of North Devon (Barnstaple, 1889), 121.

29 Jeremiah Milles Questionaire Part 1 MSS in Bodleian Library, cl756 [microfilm]; White 's (1850), 439.

30 Sarah Wilmot, 'The South West: Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall*, in The Agrarian
History of England and Wales (AHEW) vii 1850-1914 (Part 1), ed. E. J. T. Collins, (Cambridge, 2001),
411-426,419.

31 Strong, Industries, 121; Robin Stanes, A History of Devon, 2ndedn (Chichester, 2000), 122,

32 Census HO107, RG9-14 Branscombe, 1841-1901; Kelly's (1897), 88.

33 L. G. Bennett, The Horticultural Industry of Middlesex (Reading, 1952); F. Beavington, 'The
Development of Market Gardening in Bedfordshire 1799-1939' in AgHR 23.1., (1975), 23-47; Martin,
'Evesham' 41-50.

34 E. Dawson and S. R. Royal (eds.), An Oxfordshire Market Gardener: The Diary of Joseph Turrill of
Garsington 1841-1925 (Stroud, 1993); Natalie Allen, Full Circle: Compiled from memories of market

ardeners of the Cotehele Valley and the diaries of Joseph Snell (Saltash, 2001).
5 Allen, Full Circle, 5, 37, 149.

36 Dawson and Royal (eds), Joseph Turrill, 64, 27, November 24 th 1864.

37 Dawson and Royal (eds.), Joseph Turrill 9 xi.

38 A.C.B. Urwin, Commercial Nurseries and Market Gardens (Twickenham, 1982).

39 Malcolm Thick, Neat House Garden: Early Market Gardening Around London (Totnes, 1998).

40 Bennett, Middlesex, 10.

41 Jesse Lobjoit Collins, Key of the Fields (London, 1990).

42 Collins, Key, 11.

43 EFP 29.03.1832.

44 EFP 23.01.1834,1c.
43 EFP 06.10.1825, lb; 13.09.1871.

46 The Western Times, 02.03.1900, Ih.

47 Devon Record Office (DRO) 3004A/PFA 272; Devon WeeklyTimes 04.01.1895, la.

48 DRO 1 148M add/2/45327; DRO 49/9/1/613; Plymouth and West Devon Record Office (PWDRO)
1118/84-86.

49 DRO 1508M/LL1/24, 28-30b; PWDRO 407/2/20/11, 407/2/23/5.

50 Webber, Market Gardening, 23;Charles Lyte, The Kitchen Garden (Oxford, 1984), 16; Michel Symes,
A Glossary of Garden History, (Princes Risborough, 1993),77.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

237

51 Richard Bisgrove, The National Trust Book of the English Garden repr. (London, 1992), 3 1 .

52 B. A. Holderness, 'Market Gardening, Vegetable and Flower Growing' in AHEW VII 1850-1914 (P

11 479.

* J. D. Chambers and G. E. Mingay, The Agricultural Revolution 1750-1880 (London, 1966), 10.

54 Thick, Neat, 23.

55 Thick, Neat, 61.

56 Bennett, Middlesex, 33.

57 Christopher Taylor, Roads and Tracks of Britain (London, 1979X 155.

58 Edward Royle, Modern Britain, A Social History 1 750-1997 2 nd edn (London, 1 997), 9.

59 M. C. Lowe, 'The Turnpike Trusts in Devon and Their Roads: 1753-1990' in The Devonshire
Association Reports and Transactions 122, 47-69, 52.

60 Joan Thirsk, Alternative Agriculture: A History from the Black Death to the Present Day (Oxford,
1997), 17,31.

61 Lyte, Kitchen Garden, 27-8

62 Thirsk, Alternative, 17,31.

63 Thirsk, Alternative, 71.

64 EFP 18.07.1833, 4d/e.

65 EFP 28.07.1875, 5d; EFP 6.08. 1884,5f.

66 DRO 1508M/Devon/Estate/Account Books/V40; PWDRO 874/3/25.

67 The Great Western Railway Routes, Statutes, Opening Dates and Other particulars (Weston Super
Mare, 1986; David St John Thomas (ed.), A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain Vol 1
West Country rev. edn (Newton Abbot, 1966), 87.

68 John Travis. 'The Rise of the Devon Seaside Resorts, 1750-1900' in The New Maritime Histc

Duffy

White

Orwin and Edith H. Whetham

271-2.

(Cambridge,

71 Whites, 1902.

72 Maxwell Lee, Formation of the Vegetarian Society, n.d. [On internet]. The Bible Christians in this case
were a minor off-shoot of a new non-conformist Church, not of the Methodists.

73 Joan Morgan and Alison Richards, A Paradise out of a Common Field: The Pleasures and Plenty of the
Victorian Garden (New York, 1990), 96.

74 EFP 9.09.1847, 3e; EFP 8.06.1848, 3d.

75 DR0 2466A/PX21;DRO 1137M/ZP4, Bradford; DRO 239A/PX11 Branscombe; DRO 2784 A/PX11.

76 Orwin and Whetham, British Agriculture, 285.

77 Yvonne Cuthbertson, Women Gardeners: A History (Denver, 1998), 100.
78 DROL1258M/DSl/14.

19 EFP 13.12.1876 1b.

80 Joan Thirsk, English Peasant Farming: The Agrarian History of Lincolnshire from the Tudor to Recent
Times (London, 1957), 316.

81 Webber, Market Gardening, 166.

82 Grace L. Zambra, Violets for Garden and Market, Rev. edn (London, 1950), 19, 43-45.
*>JRASEX\U (1895), 170.

84 EFP 19.07.1876, 1c.

85 William Vemey, Tawstock, 72 acres; Thomas Daw, Beer Ferris, 60 acres; William Cann, Brixham, 60
acres; Joseph Proctor, Beer Ferris, 50 acres; William Cane, Ermington, 30 acres; William Parsons,
Eggbuckland and George Guest, Bere Ferrers, 22 acres apiece; John Knight and William Maben of Stoke
Damerel with 20 acres apiece.

86 D. J. Goodchild, 'Horticulture in the Tamar Valley', Horticultural Education Association Annus
Report (1954), 1.

87 Martin, 'Evesham', 41-50, 46; Beavington, 'Bedfordshire 1 , 23-47, 28.

88 Martin, 'Evesham', 41-50, 41; Beavington, 'Bedfordshire',23-47.

89 North Devon Athenaeum Box 21/6A.

^NDROBHO add/36/1.

91 Census PRO RG12 Bishops Tawton, 1891.

92 Census PRO RG1 1, 1881 [CD]; Census HO107 1851 [CD],

93 Census RG 12 1881 Devon; RG13 Kingskerswell, 1901.

94 Census PRO RG1 1, 1881 [CD]

95 EFP 25.07.1877, lb.

96 DRO 52/7/13/5.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

238

97 Census PRO RG 1 1 1881 [CD]; Census HO 107 1851 [CD].

edn (London, 1 967), 5 1 .

98 NDRO 2558 add 2/138, 142, 147.

99 James Caird, English Agriculture in 1850-51 [1852]

100 DRO 1508M/Devon add Ml/6.

101 DRO 1508M/LL1/28.

102 DRO 1508M/Devon Add LL6/8.

103 Orwin and Whetham, British Agriculture, 155.

104 EFP 14.03.1877, lb.

105 Jebb, Small Holdings, 97-8.

106 PWDRO 874/3/44, 53.

107 Orwin and Whetham, British Agriculture, 299-300

108 PWDRO 874/3/62.

109 DRO 1508M/LL1/24.

110 G. E. Mingay, Land and Society in England 1750-1980 (London, 1994), 213.

Allotment ground at Duryard,

ardens.

1 EFP 19.07.1876, lc; DRO 1508M/LL1/28

113 Caird, Agriculture, 50.

114 Martin, 'Evesham', 41-50, 43.

115 DRO 1508M/LLl/28-30b.

116 Jebb, Small Holdings, 96.

117 Bennett, Middlesex, 28.
1,8 NDRO P88.

(London,

120 Thirsk, Alternative, 67-6:

121 Field, Field Names, 100.

Centuries

Merry

and Cornwall Notes and Queries XXIV (1950), 41-4, 42; Stanes

123 Holderness, 'Market Gardening', 480.

124 Wilmot, 'Farming' 294-306, 299; Webber, Market Gardening

125 Helen M. Cole, The Early Strawberry Crop (Exeter, 1976), 1,

126 Webber, Market Gardening, 161-2.

127 Booker, Industrial Archaeology, 236-
Par/ 2 (London 1980), 11.

128 Booker, Industrial Archaeology, 236.

129 Booker, Industrial Archaeology, 228-9; Goodchild, 'Horticulture'; Katherine H. Johnstone
'Horticulture in the Tamar Valley*, Agriculture 62 (1955), 123-9, 123.

130 White 's Directory, 1850, 730-1.

131 Booker, Industrial Archaeology, 15.

132 Michael Gee, Mazzards: The revival of the curious North Devon Cherry (Exeter, 2004), 20.

133 Jebb, Small Holdings, 93.

134 Booker, Industrial Archaeology, 238

135 Census PRO RG 11 1881.

136 Kelly 's 1 866, 1 878, 1 897; White 's 1 878. A further market gardener was identified through the
Warleigh House records PWDRO 407/2/18/12.

137 Vancouver, Agriculture, 213.

138 R. T. Paige, The Upper Tamar Valley A Century Ago (Tavistock, 1982), 33-34.

139 Booker, Industrial Archaeology, 235; Jebb, Small Holdings, 93-94.

140 Census PRO RG1 1 St Dominick, Cornwall, 1881 [microfiche]
141 JRASE Xll(m0).

142 Webber, Market Gardening, 163-5.

143 Goodchild, 'Horticulture', 2-3.

144 Census PRO RG1 1 Calstock, 1881 [microfiche].

145 Census PRO RGll St Dominick, 1881 [microfiche].

146 Census PRO RG12-13 Bere Ferrers, 1891, 1901.

147 Census PRO RG9-10, Alphington, Broadclyst , Salcombe Regis, 186 land 1871.

148 Duncan Mitchell, 'Social Mobility in Nineteenth-Century Devon', AgHR 7:2 (1<

149 Jebb, Small Holdings, 100, 103.

150 Census PRO RG9-10. Combe Martin. 1861. 1871.

152 Census PRO RG 1 1 1881 [CD].

sPRORGll,Calstock

Returns rmicrofichel

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

239

153 James Barnes, 'Reasons for following the Business of a Market-Gardener', GM 18 (1842), 164-6.

154 Thick, Neat, 161.

155 The Garden 18.10.1890, 378-9.

156 Goodchild, 'Horticulture', 2; Bennett, Middlesex, 22; Jebb, Small Holdings, 96.

157 Bennett, Middlesex, 22.

158 The Garden 18.10.1890, 379.

159 DRO 49/9/1/613.

160 PWDRO 831/160.

161 Webber, Market Gardening, 136-7.

162 Jebb, Small Holdings, 174.

163 Thick, Neat, 94.

164 DRO 7140 (96M) North Devon Accounts (1877); The Gardener (1870), 160.

165 Robert Thompson, The Gardener's Assistant: A Practical and Scientific Exposition of the Art of
Gardening in all its Branches New edn ed. by William Watson (London, 1900), 159.

166 EFP 03.05.1849, 5c.

167 Pigot's Directory of Devon and Cornwall (1830) 133.

168 Thompson, The Gardener's Assistant, 167.

169 DRO 316M add 3/FA5/26; DRO 316M add/3/FA7/57; Paige, Tamar Valley, 45.

170 Vancouver, Agriculture, 311-2; Fraser, General View, 21.

171 John Britton and Edward Wedlake Brayley, The Beauties of Britain Vol IV (London, 1 803), 22.; DRO
316Madd3/FA5/16-26.

172 PWDRO 74/375, 74/729; DRO 316M add 3/FA9/14.

173 PWDRO 874/3/58-59; DRO 1508M/Devon/Accounts/V64 peat manure purchased 8.10.1878, 16s;
NDRO B170 add/91; DRO 7140 (96M) Bicton Rental and Accounts 1842.

174 DRO 514/39; Pigot's, 133; EFP 25.12.1861, lb.

175 DRO 7140 North Devon Accounts (1877); DRO 867B/E2/9/1.

176 NDRO B 170 add/91.

111 EFP 3.01.1877,7c.

178 EFP 7.10.1858.

179 EFP 9.10.1878, 3e.

180 Dawson and Royal (eds.), Joseph Turrill, 4.

181 The Garden 10.05. 1 890, p441. By the time the peas have broken through the soil for the second time,
they are too strong for the birds to bother them.

182 Goodchild, 'Horticulture', 3; Johnstone, 'Tamar Valley' 123-9, 127.

183 Mingay, Land, 213

184 EFP 07.01.1880, lc,le.

185 EFP 24.04. 1878, 3b, 26.09.1883, 2f.

186 JRHS 17:1 (1894), 69.

187 Maxwell T. Masters and James Douglas, Examiners, JRHS 19:1 (1895), 2.

188 The Garden 15.02.1890, 146.

189 Orwin and Whetham, British Agriculture, 263.

190 Webber, Market Gardening, 108-9.

191 Webber, Market Gardening, 158

192 Richard Holt and Gervase Rosser (eds.), The Medieval Town: A Reader in English Urban History
(London, 1 990), 60; Jonathan Barry, 'Towns and processes of urbanization in the early modern period' in
Historical Atlas of South-West England ed. by Roger Kain and William Ravenhill (Exeter, 1999), 413-
425, 420.

193 Stanes, History, 18.

194 Stanes, 'Devon Agriculture' 43-65, 54.

195 EFP 11.12.1817, 3d.
m EFP 14.10.1813, lc.

197 EFP 13.10.1814,3a.

198 PRO ADM 1 12/87 Victualling Board Contracts Plymouth.

199 Western Times 25.01.1851, 1 f; EFP 18.02.1880, lc; EFP 11 12.1817, 4d

200 Collins, Key, 10.

201 Merry, Shipping 10.

202 Dorian Gerhold, Road Transport Before the Railways: Russell 's London Flying Waggons (Cambridge,
1 993)*

203 EFP 4. 10. 1876.

204 Edward Higgs, 'Occupational Censuses and the Agricultural Workforce in Victorian England and

Wales' in Economic History Review, XLVIII, 4 (1995), 706

205 Census PRO RG1 1 1 881 [CD].

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

240

206 The Garden, 01.03.1890,211.

207 Reports of Special Assistant Poor Law Commissioners on the Employment of Women and Children in
Agriculture, PP (1 843), VII, Report by Alfred Austin, 22.

**EFP 24.02.1894,2a.

209 Martin, 'Evesham', 41-50, 42.

210 Booker, Industrial, 15.

211 Census PRO RG11 Devon, 1881; Return of Owners of Land, 1873, England and Wales Vol 1 Devon

(London, 1875).

212 EFP 5.12.1833, 3f.

213 Thick, Neat, 58, 101-6.

214 Thick, Neat, 61-76; Thirsk, Alternative, 71.

215 Webber, Market Gardening, 65.

216 Suzanne Treseder, A Passion for Plants: The Treseders of Truro (Penzance, 2004), 14-17.

217 Assbee, 'Market Gardening', p395.

Chapter Five: Market Gardeners

241

CHAPTER SIX

The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon

Introduction

Identification of Devon Nurserymen

Early History

Exeter Nurserymen

Other Devon Nurserymen

Plymouth Nurseries
Functions of Nurseries

Tasks of Nursery Workers

Staff

Working Conditions of Nursery Gardeners

Running Costs of Business

Competition

Wealth

Summary

CHAPTER SIX

The filite: Nurserymen of Devon

To enter on the subject of nursery-culture would embrace almost every part of
gardening: since no department requires a more general knowledge, or so much
attention and practical adroitness. 1

Although head gardeners had reached the top of their career hierarchy with many set for
life in substantial houses in estate gardens with servants of their own, it was the
nurserymen who were considered middle-class, and who were wealthier than other
gardeners. Specialisation and a wealthy customer base had ensured that nurserymen
were more influential than other gardeners except perhaps for head gardeners. This
accords with Harold Perkin's theory that:

...specialization leads directly to professionalism, where being a member of a
particular profession helps enhance their status, increase their incomes and
protect their skills from competition, 2

Introduction

Nurserymen were very important and influential in the gardening world of the
nineteenth century. They designed and advised on the layout of country estates, parks
and private gardens and stocked them with trees, plants, seeds and equipment.
Professional gardeners trained in nurseries, market gardeners grew seeds and plants to
supply them and head gardeners, 'who had acquired a little capital', 3 became

nurserymen as part of their career progression. 4 As businessmen, proprietors of
nurseries had higher status than most in the gardening profession, many becoming
gentlemen. In his gardening encyclopaedia of 1822, John Claudius Loudon called
nurserymen, 'the highest species of tradesmen gardener', recognising that an important
part of their work was in retailing, not just in raising plants. He also acknowledged the
hierarchy within the nursery business:

... the simplest variety of nursery gardener is he who confines himself to the
rearing of hedge plants and forest trees; the highest, he who to all the hardy trees
and plants maintains at the same time a collection of tender exotics, 5

Loudon highlighted what was expected of a nurseryman, saying:

His business is to originate from seed, or, by other means of propagation, every
species of vegetable, hardy or exotic, grown in gardens, to rear and train them for
sale, and to pack or encase them, so as they may be sent with safety to distant
places. 6

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon 243

To enhance their reputation, nurserymen became responsible for setting the standards
for good quality plants, which included the cleanliness and fertility of seeds which were
'proved before sold'. 7 They sent explorers abroad to bring back seeds and cuttings from
exotic places. Plants were first trialled to see how they grew, then frequently hybridised
to make them sturdier and more suitable to the British climate, or more colourful to
accommodate Victorian taste. Nursery gardens, shops and horticultural shows were
used to display the best quality plants to the public; visits from the gentry and their head
gardeners were particularly encouraged. Nursery catalogues supplied to customers were
informative, entertaining and instructive and illustrated with the latest introductions and
hybrids.

It was during the nineteenth century that many of the familiar names of today, such as

Suttons of Reading (established 1806), and Thompson and Morgan (established 1855),
became household names. 8 In Devon, the Veitch's of Exeter (established cl795), who
had another branch in Chelsea, were the most successful nurserymen with customers
spread throughout the country. However, there were others who became known through
their displays of prize-winning plants at horticultural shows and who were brought to
public attention through their advertisements or by mention in horticultural journals.
Along with Veitch, it was the families of Lucombe and Pince, Sclater, Addiscott,
Southwood and Dymond in Exeter, and Pontey and Rendle in Plymouth, who
influenced what was planted in Devon's gardens. There was also a host of smaller
nurseries such as Curtis and Sanford of Torquay who specialised in roses, and Thomas
Murley's Victorian fernery at Lynton.

Devon eventually supported many nurserymen especially near the ports of Exeter,
Plymouth, Barnstaple and Bideford. These locations helped with the introduction of
new species of plants, many of which were seen in the county before being grown in
London. In this chapter it will be seen that initially nurserymen aimed their wares at the
wealthier sector of society, with advertisements which targeted 'Noblemen and
Gentlemen' 9 but by the end of the nineteenth century, were also opening their gardens
to interested and prospective customers from all classes.

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon

244

Identification of Devon Nurserymen

number of nurserymen

1851. 10 This increase was less than the national figure for nurserymen and women in
England and Wales which had increased by 190 per cent for the same period (see Figure
6:1 below). It has not been possible to make a direct comparison with the 1891 or 1901
census, because the figures for gardeners, who were not domestic servants, were
amalgamated in those years to 'gardeners (not domestic) and nurserymen, seedsmen and
florists,' which included market gardeners.

Figure 6:1. Numbers of nurserymen and florists working in Devon 1841 to 1881
compared with those for England and Wales

Nurserymen and Florists

England and Wales

Devon

Date

Male

Female

Total

Male

Female

Total

1841

1413

1436

1851

2636

2675

1861

2838

2917

106

1871

5113

382

5495

147

151

1881

7021

734

7755

213

224

Source: Census.

These figures are not completely accurate as there are no women represented in Devon
until 1871, yet information taken from the enumerators' returns show that Mary Russell
in Sidmouth was a nursery-woman in 1851, and Harriett Kerswell, Harriett Southwood
and Martha Brown were all proprietors of nurseries in 1861. The first two had
businesses in Exeter St Thomas, the latter in Tamerton Foliot. 13 These statistics also do
not include daughters of nurserymen, such as the Sclater sisters who were listed as
'nurseryman's assistants', nor daughters and wives who worked alongside parents and
husbands.

One reason for the increase in the numbers of nurserymen throughout the century was
due to the change in the way they were recorded. In 1851 and earlier, many nursery
proprietors and their workforce were listed simply as 'gardener' or 'agricultural
labourer'. It was not until the 1860s that gardeners began to specify their occupation as
'nurserymen' or 'nursery gardener'.

Chapter Six: The filite: Nurserymen of Devon

245

e 6:2. Distribution of nurseries in Devon by date of establishment

Pre 1801- 1811- 1821- 1831- 1841- 1851- 1861- 1871- 1881- 1891-

Area * 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 Total

East Devon 0 1 2 2 0 2 7 11 14 14 26 69~~
Exeter 8 6 5 7 9 16 15 22 17 23 17 139
Mid Devon 0001 1436658 30
North Devon 0 0 1 2 0 4 3 9 7 10 14 49
Plymouth 2 0 4 0 2 2 116 9 8 20 61
South Hams 00140374574 32
Teignbridge 0 0 2 0 1 2 7 8 14 9 25 59
Torbay 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 3 6 10 16 41
Torridge 0000021663116
West Devon 01100154259 27
10 8 16 17 13 37 63 79 86 94 140 523

* Based on modern District and Unitary Authority areas.
Source: Gardener Database.

The above chart (Figure:6:2) demonstrates the steady growth in the numbers of new

nurseries and their distribution throughout the county. The influence of the railway and
the growth of the violet and daffodil industry can be seen in the figures for East Devon
and Teignbridge. The railway enabled nurserymen to set up away from the two main
cities of Exeter and Plymouth and to establish a business in areas influenced by tourism

and urban expansion

nurserymen

Teignbridge and Torbay, *a summer holiday resort, and a place of winter residence',

grew steadily. The gentle climate of Devon and long coast-line had encouraged
visitors to the county, many of whom made their homes in seaside resorts such as
Torquay and Dawlish. 'Everywhere hills and their slopes [are] covered with villas
embowered in luxurious verdure'. 15 The numbers of parks and gardens established
during this period for the benefit, in part, of the tourists also led to a demand for trees
and plants, especially for carpet-bedding displays and massed bedding with the use of
'salvias, ageratums, heliotropes, petunias and verbenas' influenced by the displays at
showcase gardens such as the Crystal Palace Park at Sydenham. 16 Even North Devon,
where Ilfracombe had become 'a fashionable watering place', had its nurseries and
ferneries to supply intrepid tourists visiting the rugged scenery of nearby Lynton and

Lynmouth.

The profession of nurseryman and market gardener often overlapped and were
interrelated; market gardeners and seedsmen had nurseries of trees or grew seeds for the
trade, and smaller nurserymen grew vegetables and fruit to supply local markets.
William Hull at Tamerton Foliot, Henry Fouracre at Heavitree and James Bale from

Chapter Six: The filite: Nurserymen of Devon 246

Landkey began their careers as market gardeners but later became known as
nurserymen. To differentiate between growers, trade directories divided commercial
gardeners into two discrete sections, either 'Nurserymen, Seedsmen or Florists' or
'Market Gardeners', To gain the maximum amount of business the same people would
often list themselves in both sections. These included Charles Colwill of Sidmouth and
William Milton of Down St Mary who were both market gardeners and Hugh Horn of
Torquay, and William Crossman of Paignton who were nurserymen. Even the better
known nurserymen such as Lucombe and Pince and the Sclater family advertised under
both headings. 18

There were differences, however, between these two sectors of commercial gardeners.
Whereas the majority of market gardeners sold their produce through local or distant

markets, nurserymen mostly sold their plants direct to the public or through their own
retail outlets and, usually, to the wealthier members of society. They also had a
wholesale market supplying plants direct to market gardeners. 19 A market garden was a
place of work, but nurseries were also places of show. In common with garden centres
of today they had attractive gardens and glasshouses, designed to attract visitors and
hence customers; both Charles Sclater in Exeter and William Rendle in Plymouth
opened botanic gardens to the public as showcases for their products, and Lucombe and
Pince's conservatory was well known for the unusual plants displayed there. 20 Market
gardens tended to be sited on the outskirts of towns within easy reach of local markets,
the railway or water transport (see Chapter Five). This was also true of nurseries but
most were based in larger towns which were the meeting places of their customers.
Lucombe, Pince & Co, invited 'such of the Nobility and Gentry who may visit Exeter
during the Assizes' to visit their new purpose built seed shop at the nursery in
Alphington Road. Even if they had land outside the town, nurserymen's shops were
frequently in the centre. New Bridge Street, Fore Street and High Street in Exeter were
home to nursery and seedsmen's shops, most notably Ford, Veitch, Mogridge and
Randall, The High or Fore Street was also the trading place for nurserymen in other
towns such as Kingsbridge, Totnes, Crediton, Honiton, Barnstaple, Bideford, Topsham,
Sidmouth, Dawlish, Devonport, Exmouth and Brixham. 22

with

and

nurserymen

listing as such in the census. This suggests that they either had a plot of land and were

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon

247

growing plants or trees as a nursery business in addition to their main profession, or that
they were acting as seed dealers, for example Charles Holcombe of Exeter St Sidwell's
was a baker, Christopher Newcombe from Winkleigh was a wheelwright and Arthur
Heard of Beaford was a carpenter and glazier. The sale of trees and seeds would have
been a seasonal business and would easily have given time and opportunity to foster a
second source of income. 23

A 'Florist' would either have covered all aspects of propagation and hybridization, or
simply, as now, produced bouquets and floral decoration to order and sold flowers and
plants raised by someone else. In 1881, Ann Soper was a florist with a stall at the
Higher Market in Exeter, who sold the produce of her husband, a nurseryman at
Belmont Nursery. Nurserymen frequently employed their wives and daughters, and
sometimes their sons, as 'florists'. If without a daughter of their own, then they might
employ another female, as did Francis Fuller, who in 1891, at the Courtenay Nursery in
Newton Abbot, employed Louisa Tan as a 'Florists Assistant'. 25

The profession of 'Seedsman' was equally ambiguous. Malcolm Thick in his study of
the early seed industry suggests that seed growers were mostly market gardeners, many
of whom were Protestant refugees from Europe. 26 In nineteenth century Devon both
William Trenchard of Colyton, and Richard Delve of Morchard Bishop, a market
gardener and farmer respectively, were seed growers. Whereas Richard Fildew of
Honiton, a general dealer and seedsman, Stephen Yolland of Ashburton, a corn and seed
dealer, and Thomas Battan of Holsworthy, an ironmonger and seedsman, were almost
certainly purchasing seeds for retail 27 Some merchants dealt with purely agricultural
sales, like William Farrier of Dartmouth who was a corn merchant. Others, however,
also imported bulbs and seeds for gardens, as did many nurserymen. 28 Nurseries

department or a seeds shop creatine even more confusion

identification.

To date 720 nurserymen and women have been identified who worked in Devon during
the nineteenth century. This is less than five per cent of the total number of gardeners
found for this period. Of these, the majority stated their occupation as 'nurseryman' or
'nursery gardener'. Within the census there was no distinction between someone who
owned a nursery business or a gardener who worked in a nursery, although, in later
census returns, a nursery foreman or manager would often specify his position. Neither

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon

248

is it possible to distinguish between a 'nursery gardener' who worked in an estate

nursery from one who worked in a commercial nursery. However, it has been possible

to establish that twelve were managers, thirteen were clerks, twenty were foremen,
forty-seven were labourers and one hundred and thirteen were proprietors (see Figure

6:3 below).

Figure 6:3. Breakdown of number of nursery gardeners identified

Occupation Number

Apprentices 1 7

Clerks 1 3

Commercial travellers 8

Nurserymen 370

Nursery boys 5

Nursery carter 3

Nursery foremen 20

Nursery gardeners 108

Nursery labourers 47

Managers 12

Proprietors 113

Retired 4

TOTAL 720

Source: Gardener database.

Of the total, twenty-six were women; nine of whom were unmarried, and thirteen
widowed, and two had been working alongside their husbands and continued in the
business as widows. Fifteen were heads of the household, five were daughters, one a
sister-in-law, one a sister. Women worked in nurseries as assistants, undertaking
gardening and administrative tasks. Many had probably helped their husbands on the

management side of the nursery business, writing letters or overseeing the business
while their husbands were elsewhere. Most of the women who were proprietors of
nurseries were widows, apart from Miss Sarah Woodrow and Miss Mary Ann Baker,

both of Axminster, who were single women, Miss Baker had taken over from her
father. 29 The number of women working in nurseries was much greater than this. Most
were known as * florists', or 'shop assistants'; it is probable that many * florists' in the
census worked directly or indirectly for nurseries. Women also sold flowers produced
by their husbands or fathers either at the local market, or from shops on a nursery site,
or worked as casual labourers weeding, harvesting and packing. 30 Ann Tozer of St
Saviour's parish in Dartmouth was a seed seller, even though her husband was a mason,
but she may have worked with her son John who was a gardener. 31 Women's

Chapter Six: The fclite: Nurserymen of Devon 249

occupations were often not listed in the census because much of their work was casual
or seasonal, or being part of the family business, not acknowledged.

Seedsmen have been excluded from this list unless they were part of a larger nursery
business. There are other gardeners, who almost certainly worked in nurseries, who are
not counted in the above figures. Many of these would have lived near to the main
nurseries, for example, in Exeter St Thomas or Heavitree. 32

Not all proprietors of nurseries were nurserymen or women. James Searle, proprietor of
Searle Street Gardens in Crediton and Addiscott' s Nursery in Exeter, was a solicitor; to
date, no familial link has been found between him and the Addiscott family. Charles
and William Addiscott, sons of Henry, the last Addiscott proprietor, both became
travellers for the seed trade and had moved to live in London. Searle could have
bought an interest in the business; this would have been an investment for the purchaser
and given much needed cash to the existing partner. Equally, he might have purchased
the whole business as an investment. Dr Robert Woodman, proprietor of Lucombe and
Pince from 1871, however, was related to the original founder being the nephew of
Robert Taylor Pince who was himself related by marriage to William Lucombe. 36

A major reason for the continuation of a successful nursery business was because many
nursery establishments belonged to the same family through several generations. This
was true for London nurseries where 'the management of nurseries was kept in the
family if possible, sons, nephews and grandsons'. 37 The Veitch nursery was started by
John Veitch in 1779 and run by his sons and grandsons for almost two hundred years;
the business was sold in 1969. Lucombe and Pince which began in the eighteenth
century continued to be run by the descendants of William Lucombe until the 1890s, a
total of one hundred and seventy years. William Ireland's nursery in Pilton, in north

Devon, was inherited by his niece, Catherine Cornelius, who had been married to
another nurseryman. The business was run by her son and his cousin both confusingly
called John Cornelius. The Sclaters were freehold gardeners in Exeter from the
beginning of the nineteenth century and became one of the best known nursery families
in the city.

Nurserymen intermarried, therefore expanding the business or ensuring its longevity by
keeping it in the family. A nursery could prosper even if there was no family to continue

Chapter Six: The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon 250

the business, due to customer loyalty, Theodore Cuerel of Stoke Nurseries, was one of
the lesser known nurserymen in Plymouth but still supplied some of the prominent
estates in the area including Saltram at Plympton and Pentillie just over the border in
Cornwall. 39 Alexander Pontey took over John Pontey's nursery in 1834 'as the said
John Pontey is of the age of 71 and is desirous of retiring from business' • Although
described as *a distant relation', he had been working and living with John for the
previous twenty years. 40 Alexander had no sons, so when he died in 1862 the business
was continued by his widow, Mary Lyne Pontey. However, in 1871 she sold the
business to Robert Coad Serpell, a biscuit manufacturer, for £3,800. The Serpells,
Robert and his son Effingham Wilson Serpell, continued to trade under the name of
Pontey. 41 The firm had continued to supply Bowringsleigh, Kitley and Saltram when
Alexander took over from John, as, in similar fashion, Pentillie and Kitley continued to

purchase from Pontey's when it was owned and run by the Serpells.

Sometimes it was through specialisation that a market was created and ensured the
success of a nursery; for example, James Walters became known as a famous rose
grower with twelve acres of roses at the Mount Radford Nursery, Exeter, advertising
them in 1897 as 'The best and cheapest in the world'. He even warranted an obituary in
The Garden as well as in the Devon Weekly Times. 43 Edmund Gill at the Victoria
Fernery, Lynton; Samuel Randall and Edward Sclater of Exeter St Thomas took
advantage of the interest in fern collecting in the 1870s by specialising in the sale of

ferns and related equipment.

Although proprietors of nurseries are easier to identify than many other gardeners,
because leases, mortgages and invoices provide a paper trail which can be followed, it is
still not easy to identify the men and women who worked in nursery gardens. Like most
working gardeners they are largely ignored. John Harvey does not mention workers in
his studies of early nurserymen, neither does Suzanne Treseder in her history of the
Treseders of Truro. 45 Audrey le Li6vre writes more about head gardeners than the
nurserymen of the title of her article and although Hortus Vetchii was written by a
member of the Veitch family his knowledge of his early family history is somewhat
vague 46 It is Shirley Heriz-Smith who fills in the gaps of knowledge of the beginnings
of the Veitch nurseries working partly from papers in a private collection. 47 Sue
Shephard's history of the Veitch family is, unfortunately, unreferenced but includes
details of the plant collectors who did so much to help make the fortunes of the Veitch

Chapter Six: The filite: Nurserymen of Devon

251

nurseries. 48 While much has been written about the Veitch businesses, there is very little
about the less well-known Devon nurseries, although some private research has been
undertaken by members of the Devon Gardens Trust and, most notably, by Trevor
Wood of the Devon Branch of the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and

Gardens. 49

One source that tells a little of the lives of a working nurseryman, his family and co-
workers, is that of non-conformist Thomas Nicholl of Redruth in Cornwall Two
volumes of his diaries remain which cover a period of twenty-one years from 1834 to
1851. Frustratingly, although he makes daily entries about weather conditions, he tells
little of the work of the nursery, probably taking it for granted. There are occasional
notes as to what was planted, and where, as well as brief entries which show which

estates he was supplying, these mostly in Cornwall. The largest part of the diary is taken
up with details of his religious meetings and stark notes of births, deaths, marriages and
emigrations. A few notable events such as the coronation of Queen Victoria and the

visit of the Queen and Prince Albert to Redruth are also recorded. So was the visit of
Tom Thumb; 'the remarkable American Dwarf was exhibited in the School Room
today, he attracted considerable attention, his height 24 inches, weight 1 5 pounds Age
14 years'. A few entries in the back of each volume give details as to the wages Nicholls
was paying his men and his amalgamated accounts for just three years.

Contemporary publications recorded disputes between nurserymen, changes of
partnership, removal to new premises and disasters such as fires. 51 Because nurserymen
were well-known and had an important standing in local society, they also featured in
the births, deaths and marriages section of the newspapers and a few warranted
obituaries even if the latter were short:

'On 24 inst. At his house in St Thomas, aged 38, Mr. George Dymond of that
Parish, Nurseryman, eldest son of Mr. John Dymond of this city and a member
of the Society of Friends. By the early removal of this excellent and worthy man,
society has lost an active and valuable member, and his sorrowing family and
friends will long feel and mourn his irreparable loss'. 52

Horticultural and flower shows were also recorded which noted the exhibitors and prize
winners. The better known nurseries receiving effusive praise for their exhibits as this
report from The Torquay and Tor Directory and General Advertiser demonstrates:

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon

252

Messrs. Veitch, of the Mount Radford nurseries, as usual, displayed their
magnificent specimens, many of which had won prizes at the Metropolitan
shows; amongst these were Ericas, Orchidaceons [sic] plants, and a gorgeous
display of new Dahlias, including some very beautiful fancy varieties, Fuchsias,
&c, &c. Messrs. Lucombe and Pince, Exeter Nurseries, who have not so
regularly attended these exhibitions, made ample amends by contributing some
of the most valuable plants in their collection, - the graceful Dove plant attracted
general attention; their cut Roses were unequalled, and shew the perfection to
which this favourite flower can be brought at all seasons. His Dahlias, Fuchsias,
and Lobelias, were also very fine.

Messrs. Sclater, of Heavitree, and Messrs. Pontey of Plymouth, exhibited
very perfect collections of cut Dahlias, Asters, Verbenas, Phlox, Aconite,
Sclater's New Bowvardia [sic]. Mr. Morgan, of the Torbay Horticultural
Establishment, Tor, richly fUrnished a large portion of the tent with Fuchsias,

^^"^ ~ r 53

collection of cut flowers.

Australia, and an

In the nineteenth century, as now, business matters were conducted in the public eye. In
1820, 150 glass panes were taken out of frames and 27 larger panes stolen from
greenhouses owned by Lucombe and Pince. This was a major blow as March was a

critical time in the growing season; glass was essential for their business and very
expensive, especially the larger panes. 54 The impact of the crime was such that a reward
of five guineas was offered for the apprehension of the thieves with a further reward,
also of five guineas (£5. 5s), for conviction. 55 At a time when the average labourer
earned 10s a week, this was a large sum of money.

Nurserymen appeared in reports of the Quarter Sessions courts, although being small
businessmen they were often more sinned against than being sinners themselves.
Crimes involved plants that were obtained by false pretences from William Addiscott in
1841 and from Samuel Bale at Landkey in 1866. Henry Taylor was prosecuted for
stealing a wheelbarrow from Charles Sclater in 1 860; and money was embezzled from
Lucombe and Pince in 1871 by George Porter, a gardener, and again by Alfred Mayne,
a seedsman clerk, in 1873, both of whom worked for the nursery.

One case, which incited several people to write to their local newspapers in protest at
the sentence, was that of James Vanstone of St Thomas in Exeter. Known as a 'Market
Gardener', he was a rival grower of Lucombe and Pince and undercut their prices by
selling plants cheaply in the local market. This he was able to do as he had lower
overheads than a large nursery business. Vanstone stood accused of stealing a flower
pot containing a heath plant, the whole, including pot, worth 5s, from Lucombe's
nursery in Alphington Road, Witnesses against Vanstone included Mr. James Veitch.

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The charge was changed to receiving, as it was asserted that his son John had actually
stolen the plant. Despite the denials of both Vanstone and his son that there had been
any plants stolen, Vanstone was found guilty and sentenced to be transported for ten
years, even though this would have been his first crime. Letters of support were
printed in the press and representation was made to the King by locals, including Robert
Vallance a solicitor, and it appears that Vanstone, although spending some time in
prison, was reprieved from transportation. 58 He and his family were still trading at
Foxhayes until the business was sold in 1893. 59

An earlier case, also reported in the Exeter Flying Post, was brought by Charles Sclater,
nurseryman of St Sidwelfs, against Arthur Bustard, market gardener of the same parish.
This involved the release of a donkey which was being taken to the pound, having been
found enjoying the produce of Mr. Sclater' s nursery. If the donkey had been impounded
a fine would have had to be paid for its release. The magistrates deemed the rescue
unlawful and fined the defendant ten shillings plus expenses, or a fortnight's
imprisonment. 60

Both these cases illustrate the competition between market gardeners and nurserymen,
and the perceived threat from the former by the latter. Robert Pince had been a lawyer
and, as seen above, could call on support from powerful friends. In general, nurserymen
were wealthier and more influential than market gardeners, who were aspiring to
become nurserymen. Their close links with the gentry and magistrates such as the Earl
of Devon, Sir Stafford Northcote, Sir John Duckworth, and the Fulfords, to whom they
supplied plants, made it difficult for those being prosecuted unless they had the support
of someone equally influential. The Vanstones and the Bustards went on to become
respectable nurserymen.

Reporting of bankruptcies and the consequent sale of stock and/or premises also provide
information about the state of the nursery business. Several Devon nurserymen went
through the bankruptcy process including Charles Sclater of the Summeriands Nursery,
John Hooper of Honiton, Thomas Hutching of Axminster and Thomas Kingdon of
Thorverton. 61 It is not always clear why some men were bankrupt. The position of a
nurseryman with its attendant financial risks was obviously too much for some
proprietors who, like Paterson and Nicholl of Bishop's Nympton near South Molton in
1818, were in the wrong place at the wrong time, despite carrying stock similar to that

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254

of more successful nurserymen. They were not the only ones who became bankrupt in
the recession years that followed the Napoleonic Wars. George Huxham of North Huish
and George Cox of Exeter St Sidwell also lost their businesses. 63 As F.M.L. Thompson

writes:

Most bankrupts were down to earth, run-of-the-mill, businessmen, small traders,
manufacturers, and shopkeepers who failed through some simple miscalculation,
mismanagement, or adverse turn of the market, not because they were pursuing
misconceived grandiose ambitions of financial or social aggrandisement.

There were many reasons for bankruptcy including lack of diversification. Paterson and
Nicholl may have had problems in both marketing and transporting stock. Thomas
Kingdon had had a fire at his nursery but that had been ten years prior to his
bankruptcy. 65 William Ford had lost part of his land, taken for building, the year before
he was made bankrupt. 66 Loudon commented in 1832 that 'Nurserymen are becoming
bankrupts all over the country'. He blamed 'every gentleman's gardener, having once
obtained a new plant propagates it for himself, his neighbours, and his master's friends'.
This, of course, reduced the profit made by nurserymen on new introductions 67

Most bankruptcies found to date happened in the first half of the nineteenth century.
One exception was that of James Searle, proprietor of Addiscott's at Alphington Street,
Exeter St Thomas. As mentioned above, Searle was a practising solicitor, not a
nurseryman by trade and in 1892 the stock of both Addiscott's and Searle' s nursery in
Crediton were sold off to pay his debts. 68 Charles Sclater and Thomas Hutchings
continued to trade as nurserymen after their bankruptcy was discharged.

Early History

The beginning of the nursery trade can be traced back to the thirteenth century: John
Harvey suggests that 'interest in good varieties of fruit trees, especially pears and
apples, had produced an international trade engaged in the import of continental
varieties' 69 He also speculates that some of the first commercial nurseries in Britain
were based in religious institutions where surplus stock was sold to local gardeners. 70
Plants introduced into Britain as a result of Elizabethan expansion were held in the
gardens of the nobility. As specimens increased in number, they were shared among
wealthy garden owners and botanists. Professional skills of propagation, developed in
the gardens of collectors, led to the establishment of specialist nurseries to provide
seeds, plants and garden materials for sale. From earlv times nurseries were needed to

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255

supply market gardens and private gardens where a head gardener was either unable to
grow plants and trees in sufficient numbers, or did not grow a sufficient variety.

The Civil War in the seventeenth century devastated tree stocks, destroyed or used
during the hostilities. Following a call from John Evelyn in his book Sylva, there was an
intensive drive to restore plantations to Britain, to replace supplies which were needed
for house and ship building. 71 By the early eighteenth century Stephen Switzer had
written detailed instructions on how to plant 'acorns and chesnuts'; which covered
every aspect of tree propagation from the initial digging and clearing of the land, to the

* • 72

suggested spacing of seeds and manure to be used to fertilise the crop.

Peace-time gave the opportunity for land-owners to expand their gardens, which
increased in size and complexity. Estate landscapes were split into several separate
departments. Plantations were a source of income as well as beauty; orchards contained
fruit trees which were being developed and grown in large numbers, their produce used
for cooking, the production of cider and perry and for dessert. In this exciting time of
regeneration new vegetable and fruit crops were introduced. To be able to grow exotic
fruit such as pineapples, grapes and melons, which needed specialised growing
conditions and care, was an outward manifestation of wealth. Kitchen gardeners were
expected to provide a wider variety of produce over a longer growing period. Formal
pleasure gardens with parterres and elaborate topiary were laid out, providing a rich
visual display from the mansion and somewhere to walk when the weather permitted.
These developments in garden fashion led to a consequent rise in nurserymen
attempting to satisfy the demand for huge numbers of forest and fruit trees, hedging
plants and evergreen shrubs, as well as the more prosaic herbs, flowers and vegetables
required for kitchen gardens. Seedsmen began to sell plants supplied from nurseries and
nurseries stocked seeds from their own suppliers as well as from seedsmen from
Europe, Egypt and Brazil.

Initially, most of the large and famous nurseries were established in London, the social,
cultural and legal capital of England, which drew in gentlemen from all parts of the
country, many of whom took the opportunity to shop for their garden requirements
while in town. 74 The Brompton Park nursery, set up with four partners in 1681, later
known as London and Wise, was one of the largest and most influential nurseries in
England. It also became one of the most expensive. The nursery supplied plant material
and undertook designs for country gentlemen. The cost of plants, coupled with the

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon 256

expense, risk and problems of transportation, ultimately led to the setting up of many
regional nurseries.

Early nurseries aimed their products at a market where owners had sufficient land and
could afford to buy large quantities of trees and, moreover, were expected to do so.
Many estates already had their own nurseries usually for growing trees (see Figure 6:4
below). 75 Women and children collected acoms and tree seeds in autumn to be planted
in nursery gardens to renew tree stocks, however, these did not always suffice to fulfil
demand. 76 Nurseries at Nutwell Court and Buckland Abbey contained forest trees and
apple trees grown on grafts. Most of these were for plantations, or orchards but the
gardener at Buckland Abbey 'sent off by Russells Waggon to Exeter for Nutwell 50
Tulip Trees, and 10 Laburnums', They also grew laurels for their shrubberies. 78

Figure 6:4. Plant list for Endsleigh tree nursery 1815

4 A List of Plants now Growing in Endsleigh Nursery Garden

Oct 1815'

60,500 Scotch Fir - 10,500 2 years Transp'
50,000 1 yeartr d

35,000 Larch - 4,000 2 years trans'
31,000 1

8,000 Spruce Fir - Mostly one year transplanted

200 Weymouth Pines - 2 years transp d
2,000 Ash - 3 years transplanted
33,000 Oak - 11,000 1 year transp d - 22,000
seedlings

450 Elms - 2 years transp
30,000 Sycamore - 1 year transplanted
1,400 Beech - 1 year transplanted
20 Pine Asters - 3 years transp d
10,000 Birch - 1 year transp
140 Silver Fir - 2 year transp'
1 ,000 Balm of Gilead - 1 year transp

Quicks

; transp
years transp

,300 Laurels Common 2 & 3 years old

200 Yews 3 years old

400 Cockspur Thorns 3 & 4 feet high

30 Portugal Laurel 4 years old

50 Ilex Oak 4 years old
600 Shrubs of various sorts fit to plant
250 Currant Trees 3 years old
250 Gooseberries
100 Fruit Trees of various

Source: DRO L1258M/SS/C/82

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257

There were often problems with plants bought from London. Frequently they had been
too long out of the ground, many suffered in transportation and there was no guarantee
that they would arrive in good condition - at Nutwell Court trees arrived with their
taproots removed. 79 Although it was cheaper to send plants by sea they were dependent
upon tides, weather conditions and communication to say where and when they would
arrive. Writing from Nutwell in 1751 Nicholas Rowe, the agent, complained to Sir
Francis Drake that, 'had not the man at the inn sent a messenger on purpose the next
evening to acquaint they were there, they might have lain there don't know how long, no
letter having come about them'. 80 Eleven years later he complained that:

The Weymouth Pines were brot here Saturday Evening & planted on Monday.
They were heated in bringing, Some of 'Em moldy & the roots breaking out, The
Nut Sets were Budded above an Inch out. 81

Even in the nineteenth century Thomas Nicholl had to wait three months and ten days
for seeds sent from London to Cornwall 82 It was not until a railway network had
covered the country that goods could move easily and quickly from one area to another,
although this did not stop problems occurring. In 1868 Robert Lipscombe, Agent for
Bicton, complained to the stationmaster about the poor state of plants sent from
Dumfries. He suggested that the problem was the 'double transference from narrow to
broad and from broad to narrow gauge truck'. 83

As regional nurseries developed some began to specialise. East Anglian nurseries
imported seeds and bulbs from Holland while Midlands' nurserymen grew rich through
supplying millions of hedging plants for miles of boundaries required by the Enclosure
Acts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 84 Devon nurseries specialised in
imported exotics which could be grown in a mild climate, and in fruit and forest trees.
The fashion of landscape gardening during the latter part of the eighteenth century, as
practiced by Lancelot 'Capability 1 Brown and his followers, called for vast numbers of
trees. These were planted to create shelter belts, wilderness walks, clumps of trees in
parkland and for individual specimen trees. Well managed woodland plantations could
also produce a good income for a land-owner, up to twice the value of land on which
they stood, and they were not labour intensive apart from the initial planting, much of
which was done by nursery labourers. 85 Local nurseries offered 'cheap planting', or
'planting by the Acre, on the most reasonable terms', 86 this was not always the case
with more distant nurseries which meant that labour had to be found and supervised for
planting. 87 This ensured loyalty to local companies when the price was right.

Chapter Six: The fclite: Nurserymen of Devon 25 8

Many Devon nurserymen offered a contract planting service whereby not only the
plants were supplied but also the gardeners to do the planting. Samuel Freeman of Yeo
near Bovey Tracey advertised 'Planting done by contract; All dead plants being
replaced at the Contractor's Expense'. 88 Plants were frequently sold on a 75 per cent/25
per cent basis. That is, three quarters of the money would be paid following the initial
planting. The last quarter was withheld for two years. 89 This was encouragement for
nurserymen to replace plants that did not survive being transplanted from the nursery.
An alternative method used by Scottish nurseries was to have a ' long thousand' where
1200 trees were supplied for every thousand ordered. This enabled an estate to plant the

surplus in nursery beds for replacements where necessary. 90

John Pontey of Plymouth planted 15'/2 acres of rough wasteland for Captain John
Hawkins as an experiment, as other crops had failed on the land. From the autumn of
1818 to the spring of 1819, he and his labourers planted a total of 38,207 trees which
averaged about twenty inches (50cm) in height, at a cost of £3 per 1,000 trees. Scotch
firs were planted as a shelter belt to protect the plantation from west and south-west
winds. Five years later the results of the experiment were published in The Technical
Repository, together with a certificate from Pontey to confirm how the planting was
achieved. The certificate dated Plymouth May 18 1 822 read:

I, John Pontey, of Plymouth, do hereby certify, that I, with my servants under my
direction, have planted, on Captain John Hawkins's estate, called Flear, in the
parish of East Allington, near Kingsbridge, in the county of Devon, between the
first day of October 1818, and the first day of April 1819, 4,235 young oaks,
3,260 elms, 2,400 ash, 1,185 beech, 700 sycamores, 330 sweet-chestnut, 12
horse-chestnut, 160 walnut, 50 poplars, 40 limes, 20 planes, 17 birch, 30
pineasters, 70 silver firs, 40 Balm-of-Gilead firs, 130 spruce firs, 5 black-spruce
firs, 1 0 Norway firs, 40 black American firs, 5 Weymouth pine firs, 3 0 of sorts
firs, 23 deciduous seedlings of sorts, 12,850 larch, and 12,500 Scotch firs; ...four
acres were cleared of the furze immediately previous to planting the young trees,
by digging the furze up with mattocks, and thoroughly cleansing the land; and
the remaining six acres were planted, by digging holes for the young trees among
the furze-roots; the growing furze being previously cut off close to the ground
with a hook, without any other preparation of the land whatever. 91

The experiment proved that the most successful growth was where the land had had
little preparation, with the trees being planted in competition with the furze. This
opened the way for other areas of wasteland to be brought into cultivation without
having to spend time and money on clearing the land first.

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259

When planting 8,800 forest trees for W. R. Ilbert in 1831, Pontey charged 50s (£2.10s)
per 1,000, presumably because the land was easier to plant. 92 The firm of James Veitch
also acted as contract gardeners advising on work needed on plantations and
undertaking the work involved, such as mowing, weeding and mulching. For example

they employed six gardeners to maintain the Arboretum at Bicton for many years.
During the winter Thomas Nicholl's men were frequently away from the nursery
undertaking planting jobs. They stayed on site until the job had been completed; in
January 1846 'Thomas Vickers and Party' spent eight days planting atNansloe. 94

The demand for fruit trees did not abate in Devon, where orchards were an important
part of the economy. William Marshall in 1805 maintained that:

There has been a long history in Devon of provision of trees for orchards raised
either by nurserymen or by farmers for their own and their neighbours use or by
cottagers for sale or by landlords to supply their tenants. 95

He was impressed with these nurseries saying, 'The management of nursery grounds,
here, is above par*, 96 Provision of apple trees for orchards continued as demonstrated by
estate records which detail payments to a variety of small growers. At Kitley in 1819, a
William Andrews was paid for '17 Apple Trees at 3s 6d per tree'; Richard Barner sold
*42 plantable apple trees' to Bowringsleigh in 1834 and Thomas Whiteway supplied
apple trees to Blackpool in south Devon from at least 1868 to 1888 97 Many nurseries
including Veitch in Exeter and Rendle in Plymouth also stocked fruit trees for kitchen
gardens and, in quantity, for orchards 98

The trend for creating and maintaining plantations also continued into the nineteenth
century. At Cadhay in 1810, John Veitch was paid £5 1.2s for 19,800 nursery trees, a
further 79,750 trees had been purchased from Peck and Allan of London, 99 'seeds of fir,
larch and beech* had to be ordered from nursery men in London 'because Exeter
Nursery men do not sell seed'. 100 Presumably all tree seeds were kept to be planted by
the nurserymen themselves. The Ilberts at Bowringsleigh purchased trees by the
thousand, as did the Lopes family at Maristow who paid Veitch £315 for supply and

planting trees.

101

By the middle of the nineteenth century the urban population for the first time exceeded
that of rural areas. People had moved from the land to live in towns which were the hub
of industrial activity and service industries. Houses were built for 'clerks, small shoo-

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260

keepers, milliners and widows'. In Exeter, 'nearly 4,000 new houses were built in and

immediately around the city in a space of forty years'. 103 This expansion both aided and
hindered the growth of nurseries. While providing customers and work, many nurseries
were forced off their land in order to make way for housing, roads and railways. This
was especially true in Exeter St David's where the population had risen from 1,853 to
3,078 in thirty years to 1831 and from 2,707 to 6,602 at St Sidwell over the same
period. 104 The first threat to William Ford's land came in 1824 when his advertisement

stated:

consequence of a certain portion of his extensive plantations
Dropriated to Building purposes; he is determined to dispose
:reon, on terms very considerably lower than the usual prices. 105

The constant threat of land disappearing under building must have made for stressful
management. By 1826 Ford's stock was for sale due to bankruptcy. 106 He died four

land was 'wanted

purposes'. 107 The demand for building land continued into the 1880s and affected other
nurseries such as Bustard and Sons who had to give up their nursery in Polsloe Road,
'the land having been sold for building'. 108 If a nurseryman owned the property then
there was money to be made and capital to be ploughed back into the business but if it
was leased, urban expansion could see the demise of all or part of the business.

Exeter, despite the decline in the woollen trade, was a wealthy city and provided a ready

and growing market for nurserymen. It was also a good distribution point, plants being
shipped into and out of Topsham by ship, by road via carriers such as Russell's and,
from 1844, by rail. A list of carriers based in the city in 1844 showed eighty places were
served by ninety-five carriers (excluding long-distance services to destinations such as

London, Bristol, Falmouth).

109

with

each year where people met to sell and

entertainment, or for gentlemen to attend the courts, and cultural and scientific
meetings. Horticultural societies and exhibitions were based in the city which displayed
new plants on offer, 'thus offering to purchasers an opportunity of judging for
themselves instead of relying upon highly-coloured portraits, or highly-coloured
advertisements'. 110 The nurseries that survived urban expansion the longest were on the
outskirts of the city at St Thomas and Heavitree but, eventually, in 1895 Samuel Britton,
the manager of Belle Vue Nurseries, St Thomas, advertised the disposal of their stock as
the land was to be built upon. 111

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261

Plymouth too was a good venue for a nursery. With shipping links to London, and
Falmouth, nurserymen had markets in several counties. 112 Ships called into Plymouth
bringing seeds and plants from abroad and naval ambassadors were frequently a source
of new plant varieties. Dr. Hamilton, an amateur botanist, supplied plants to Pontey's
for experimentation, many sent from South America by the British Consul, others from
correspondents such as Dr. William Schiede. 113 These included the arracacha root which
was considered 'superior to the potato' 114 and:

The Pita plant, of which the only specimens in Europe, of whose existence I am
aware, are those in the possession of Mr. Pontey here, and one which he
exchanged with Mr. Lambert, of Boyton House, Wilts. 115

Results of the experiments were eagerly looked for at horticultural shows, and reported
in local newspapers and national journals, for example, samples of ropes made from the
pita plant were compared for strength with those made from hemp. 116 Reporting on the
South Devon and East Cornwall Botanical and Horticultural Society Exhibition held on
May 27 th 1830, the journalist stated:

The magnificence of the exhibition was greatly increased by contributions for
that special purpose, without any pretensions to prizes ... The Opium
manufactured by Mr. Cox of his Majesty's dock-yard, from the large white
poppy from Mr. Pontey's was declared by several medical gentlemen as superior
to that generally imported, 117

A fascination with new exotic plants, the proximity of ports, together with sufficient
wealth to back new ventures, saw Devon nurseries send out plant hunters who travelled
all over the world to procure new varieties of plants. These were tried and tested in
glasshouses and gardens throughout the region, taking advantage of the mild west-
country climate. The Wardian case, an invention of Dr Nathanial Bagshaw Ward,
enabled exotic species of plants to survive transportation from their homeland to
Britain, in a sealed glass container, despite the temperature and humidity outside.
George Loddiges, a nurseryman from London, was one of the first to use the case,
claiming that whereas he used to lose nineteen out of twenty plants on a long voyage, by
the use of the Wardian case nineteen out of twenty plants now survived.

Exeter Nurserymen

The earliest nurseryman in Devon is usually thought to be William Lucombe who
established his nursery in Exeter St Thomas in 1720. 118 Lucombe had been a gardener at

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon

262

Mamhead where he had planted many trees on the estate of Mr, Balle. 119 The firm he
created was best known in the eighteenth century for the introduction of the Lucombe
Oak, Quercus X hispanica 'Lucombeana' a quick growing evergreen tree with a straight
trunk, a hybrid of a turkey oak {Quercus cerris) and a Cork Oak {Quercus suber) which
he discovered in about 1763. Lucombe dispatched the oaks all around Britain including
the north of England, Wales and Ireland to see if they would 'do'. They were advertised
in the 1775 catalogue of Telford of York as the Devonshire or Lucombe Oak. This
was part of the opening up of the nursery trade which took it from a London led or
regional based industry to become a national business putting Exeter and Devon firmly
on the map in terms of innovation and specialisation. During the early 1800s Lucombe' s
had also produced notable apples, 'Lucombe's Pine' and 'Lucombe's Seedling'.

By 1813, the firm of William Lucombe had become Lucombe and Pince as William's
grandsons, John Lucombe and Benjamin Pince, now ran the business. They advertised
*A great quantity of very fine large scotch firs from 3 to 5 feet which will be sold very
cheap, for their size, and well worth the attention of gentlemen'. They also offered
'some very large rhododendrons that would be highly ornamental for fronting large
shrubberies or planting, as fencing underwood to large plantations'. The same
advertisement included *new' plants such as the 'fern leav'd beech', 'Antwerp
Raspberry' and a 'very large prolific Hautboy Strawberry'. 121 In other words, while they
appealed to land-owners for business, they also advised what to plant in both plantations
and shrubbery and, at the same time, ensured that kitchen gardeners and owners were
acquainted with the latest varieties of fruit.

Annual horticultural exhibitions acted as showcases for new and better plant varieties
being developed by nurseries. From its beginnings there were three nurseries closely
associated with the Devon and Exeter Horticultural and Botanical Society. These were
Veitch, initially of Killerton, later from Killerton and Mount Radford Nurseries in
Exeter, George Dymond and Co., and Lucombe and Pince. By 1832 Sclater was also
exhibiting and in 1 834 Dymond was replaced by Nott & Hewett who had taken over the
firm. 122 There was some conflict between the members and their aims. Robert Pince,
one of the founder members, thought there should be more practical men on the
committee, so three local nurserymen were voted on as members but, only a few years
later, the Reverend Dr. Mills complained that there were too many nurserymen involved
with the society, as 'in its origins and objects this was a gentleman's society'. 123

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Reports of horticultural exhibitions were normally published once a year in the
Gardener's Magazine. However, Loudon had been sufficiently impressed by how
Lucombe and Pince had arranged their plants at the Devon Horticultural Society
exhibition in June of 1835, to include an additional report which described plants that

were:

...classed in masses of distinct kinds, which were again subdivided according to
their various contrasted hues: the advantages of the application of scientific
principle, and of system, were here apparent, great judgement being exercised in
the regulation of light and shade; while the effect of the whole was of the most
picturesque and agreeable kind, and well worthy of imitation. 124

In 1841 Lucombe and Pince introduced the first English tea rose, which was raised in
Devonport, Rosa T)evoniensis\ 125 A somewhat inflated and inaccurate account was
published in The Magazine of Horticulture:

It was raised from the seed by a cottager in Devonshire England: Mr Pince of
Lucombe & Pince of Exeter Nurseries happened to see the rose in passing and
was so much struck with its charms that he inticed the cottager to part with it for
ten guineas; after he had propagated it, he took it to London and sold in one day
one hundred bushes, for one hundred and ten pounds. The Duke of Devonshire
bought five at a guinea each.

Lucombe and Pince were responsible for raising some of the earliest plants from abroad,
introducing material from Nepal and Central and South America. The company
published the 'fullest catalogue of Coniferae which has yet been published... in all, 151

species and varieties'.

127

Loudon enthusiastically promoted the cast iron and lead tree labels designed by Robert
Glendinning while working at Lucombe and Pince and used to identify trees from their
nursery. He hoped they would be 'adopted by all nurserymen'.

The names are stamped on a plate of lead and the indentations are filled in with
white paint on a black ground. A disc on the shank of the label at once prevents
it from being pushed too far into the ground and from leaning either to the one
side or the other. The stamping of the names on these labels might form an
occupation for workmen in weather when they could not work out of doors, for
persons in workhouses perhaps, and for women and children. 128

The most famous of the Exeter nurseries was that owned by the Veitch family. Some of
the gardens that the Veitch nurserymen advised upon and supplied plants to included
Cadhay, Chevithome Parsonage in Tiverton, Hall in North Devon, Mamhead, Saltram,
Blackpool, Craddock Lodge at Uffculme, Luscombe Castle, Colleton, Streatham Hall in

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Exeter, Huntsham Court, Shute House and Stover, all in Devon; Bridehead House and
Nynehead Gardens in Somerset and Pentillie in Cornwall. 129 The Veitchs and their
designers worked with aristocracy, gentry, the clergy and middle class villa owners, and
provided plants for many gardens in Devon.

John Veitch, head gardener and agent at Killerton, had grown trees in nursery plots on
Killerton estate and supplied local landowners with surplus stock as well as William

130

Lucombe's nursery in Exeter, prior to setting up his own nursery at Budlake in 1779.
Veitch had arrived in Devon from London in 1770 to lay out 500 acres of parkland for
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland to conform with the new style landscape parks at Bicton,
Castle Hill and Saltram. 131 He was eighteen and had been working in the Vineyard
Nursery for two years previously, earning 8s a week. Originally, he trained with
Dickson's in Scotland near to his home at Ancrum. The death of Acland brought work
on the estate to a standstill but gave Veitch the opportunity to develop his design and
nursery business while continuing to act as agent to the Acland estates. One of
Veitch' s largest commissions was to supply trees and flowering shrubs such as
camellias and myrtles to the value of £1,212, to create woodland, designed by Repton,
for Charles Hoare of Luscombe Castle in Dawlish. 133

Veitch' s first love was trees, however, his youngest son James was more interested in
flowering plants and added annuals and perennials to the nursery stock. James sent
specimen plants to the London Horticultural Society's shows where many, such as a
double dahlia sent in 1826, received awards.

The nursery at Budlake was leased for the term of John's life only, so it was James who
bought twenty-five acres of land at Mount Radford in Exeter in 1830 for £200 an acre
and opened his nursery in 1832, in competition with those already in the city. 134 This
was very expensive land with a capital investment of £5,000 but James was bidding
against those who were attracted to the property for its building potential, moreover, it
was 'within 10 minutes walk of the city*. It is possible that James bought the property
that had already been a nursery which was being advertised as 'an investment for
building'. 135 The Veitch family certainly understood the security of owning freehold
land at a time when many nurseries existed on leases. In 1882 as part of an expansion
plan, Veitch and Sons of Chelsea bought Osborn's nursery at Fulham, which comprised
only four acres, for a sum of £10,000 which was also in a prime location for building. 136

Chapter Six: The filite: Nurserymen of Devon

•

265

The lease that John Veitch had had at Budlake illustrated how a business could be
affected by the lack of a permanent lease or freehold. This put some businesses at risk
when a proprietor died, although some life-time leases gave a couple of years after
death to enable a business to be disposed of and moved. This happened at Bow Hill
where William Lucombe had *a leasehold Interest therein for his Life (now upwards of
90) and 2 years after his death'. 137 This was for part of Bowhill House and four nearby
fields. Following his death his son John had to set about moving family and nursery
onto other land. Many nursery businesses, as will be seen later, were on land with leases
for seven years or less. A freehold or long leasehold ensured long-term planning for the
business but also, should anything go wrong, the land itself was an asset.

When James Veitch moved to Exeter there were already a dozen nurseries based in the
town. These included his greatest rival Lucombe and Pince. There were also nurseries
owned by the Southwood, Addiscott, Dymond and Sclater families; Charles Hewett,

Thomas Charmes, William Cox, James Turner, James Townsend and William Ford
were also competitors. His new seed shop which opened at 54 High Street to sell 'seeds,

138

garden implements and sundries' also had to compete with established businesses.
Buildings on the site at Mount Radford included five stove houses for orchids which
were to become one of the specialities of the business. Other land was soon purchased
or leased, including eleven acres on Haldon for ornamental trees and shrubs, and seven
acres of enclosed Broadclyst Heath, which was named Brockhili, where the tree stock

John Veitch remained at Budlake with son Thomas until

aged 87.

139

In 1853, after the purchase of Knight and Perry's Exotic Nursery, James Junior,
grandson of John Veitch, went to London to manage the Chelsea nursery. James senior
remained in Exeter with his younger son Robert Toswili Veitch. Both nurseries were
managed as one business until James senior died in 1863. After that they became
separate organisations run by brothers James and Robert. The Exeter nurseries expanded
under Robert, with new premises opened in New North Road, Exeter and in Exminster.
Robert was eventually joined by his son Peter and the firm then continued as Robert
Veitch and Son. 140

Veitch and Son were particularly known for their plant collecting. Thomas Lobb had
started work at the Budlake nursery as a boy and moved to the new Exeter nursery when
it opened. His older brother William, continued to work for the Williams family at

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon 266

Scorrier in Cornwall. However, in 1840 William was persuaded to travel to South
America to explore Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Columbia on behalf of Veitch. In
1842 Thomas Lobb was also sent abroad to Malaysia and Indonesia but after 1853 sent
most of his plant finds to Veitch' s in Chelsea. 141 Both brothers continued to collect for
the Veitch family until William Lobb died in San Francisco in 1864.

Another local collector for Veitch was Richard Pearce. He joined James Veitch in
Exeter in 1858 having first worked with Pontey in Plymouth. By 1859, trained by
Thomas Lobb, he had been sent to Chile. He also collected extensively for James Veitch
in London but, after a disagreement with Veitch, moved to Bull and Son shortly before
his untimely death in 1868 aged 32. 142

Other Devon Nurserymen

As observed with Lucombe and Veitch, many Exeter nurseries were long-lived. John
Wilson's nursery (1770-1778) at Okehampton Street in Exeter St Thomas was taken
over by William Ford junior and John Bolham. It is not known what happened to
Bolham but by 1805 Ford was trading with Thomas Please as Ford and Please. By 1816
George Dymond & Co had taken on the business. They ran the nursery stocked with
forest trees, ornamental shrubs and plants, for twenty-one years, probably the length of
their lease. From their seed shop they sold imported bulbs from Holland. 143 In 1835, the
nursery business was sold to Nott and Hewett, who also had land at Sidmouth, 144 and
when, in 1836, John Dymond junior took over the management of the Devon and
Cornwall Banking Company, the seed business at New Bridge Street was sold to
William Kerswell Mogridge (1801-1874), a former manager of Dymond's. The latter
was still in business in 1851 but retired in 1861. 145

Many nurseries were, in common with James Veitch, set up or expanded in the 1830s.
The Sclater family had been gardeners for at least thirty years by then. James, John and
William, all gardeners, were volunteers in the Exeter Regiment and appear in the Exeter
Militia List of 1803. 146 Various members of the Sclater family became nurserymen. One
of the best known in the early nineteenth century was Charles Sclater, bom in 1796 he is
listed as a nurseryman in the Exeter Pocket Journal of 1819. In 1824 he made a buying
trip to Bath, Bristol and London and on his return advertised curious and rare specimens
of geraniums, pinks and carnations on view at his nursery in Southernhay. 147 Four years
later he took a seven year lease on two gardens from the Guardians of the Poor, which

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon

267

had originally been part of the workhouse garden, with the intention of 'opening, in a
very superior style, these grounds to the public'. 148 The gardens comprised a total of
four and a half acres altogether and became known as the Summerland Nursery. Sclater
was unhappy with the competition from other nurserymen (especially Veitch) and
applied for a reduction in rent in 1834 owing to 'the great competition that, since he
entered on these premises, has sprung up in this neighbourhood in his line of business'.
It appears from his lease that he did not get the rebate that he requested but despite
being made bankrupt in 1848 remained at the Summerland Nursery until 1870. 149

In his 'Report on rare or select Articles in certain British Nurseries and private Gardens'
Loudon included three nurseries from Devon. These were Lucombe and Pince, James
Veitch and the Summerland Nursery, of which he wrote:

The grounds are of considerable extent and remarkably well, as it appeared to us,
furnished with fruit trees. Mr. Sclater, jun., informed us that they have a very
extensive collection of hardy fruits, with specimen plants of each kind bordering
the walks. They have a new kind of grape from America, producing a very fine
fruit with peculiarly agreeable flavour, and a most powerful perfume. They have
some superb kinds of raspberries and a great many articles from America,
received through the kindness of Major Knox of Lindridge.

He then went on to list the rare plants found in the nursery among which there was, 'a
potato which may be said to produce two crops a year, as, when the first-formed tubers
are taken away early in summer, a second set is produced late in autumn,' and 'the
Paignton cabbage'. 150 The fact that Loudon included Sclater's nursery suggests that it
was one of the most important in Exeter at the time.

James and Edward Sclater, sons of Charles, also had nurseries in Exeter. Edward at the
South Devon Nursery in Exeter St Thomas had eleven acres and employed four men
and three boys including two of his sons. 151 James Sclater had a total of 96 acres which
included land at St Loyes leased from the Trustees of Heavitree Charity. He claimed in
1852 to have 'upwards of £2,000 worth of property in this neighbourhood'. 152 His son
Charles took over these lands in 1866 but the nursery continued to be known as James
Sclater & Co. During the agricultural recession and bad harvests of the 1870s Charles
Sclater struggled to survive and in 1879 wrote to the Trustees asking for a reduction in
rent 'especially as your land is so very dearly rented'. 153 It was William Henry Sclater
of the Alexandra and Summerland Nurseries, another son of Charles, who took over

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon

268

part of Lucombe and Pince's Nursery in St Thomas in 1897, which was sold in 1912 to
Exeter City Council to become a public park known as Pince's Gardens, 154

Plymouth Nurseries

It is surprising that the nurserymen of Plymouth did not become as well known as those
of Exeter. William Edgcumbe Rendle was the son of John Rendle, grandson of William,
both nurserymen. He wrote a Treatise on the Tank System of communicating Heat to
Horticultural Structures (1843) which explained how a tank six inches deep, twenty feet
long by five feet wide could be used to heat houses for propagation of plants, the plants
being grown on top of the tank. 155 He was also responsible for the Plymouth Royal
Botanic Gardens which attracted 'upwards of 6,000 people of the highest
respectability/ including the Nepalese Ambassador, at its opening in 1850. 156 The
Botanic Gardens were opened with money he received for the loss of about two acres of

nursery land needed for the South Devon Railway. 157 The Botanical Gardens were

intended:

horticultural and floricultural

(Plymouth hitherto having been deficient in this respect) fancy bazaars, soirees,
exhibitions of fireworks, and a subscription promenade for the summer
months. 158

Having given up his land in 1848, Rendle managed to lease from the railway company

All those pieces or parcels of Ground lying on the Western side of the South
Devon Railway and including the slope of the Railway Embankment between
Union Street and King Street... to lay out the said pieces or parcels of Ground as
an Ornamental Garden or pleasure Ground and to form Walks and plant trees and
Shrubs therein and generally to occupy the same together with and as part of the
Public Gardens laid out by the said William Edgcumbe Rendle on the Northern
side of Union Street and King Street.

The lease was for a period of 21 years at a nominal rent of £5 payable half yearly. 159
Rendle therefore had a further source of income and advertisement in addition to the
nursery as well as a ready-made showcase for his plants. The entrance was through
trellised arches and 'statues of chaste design', the garden contained 'beautiful trees and
plants from all nations... two handsome fountains' and 4 conservatories filled with rare
Exotic Plants*. 160 Not surprisingly William Rendle became wealthy enough to employ a
governess, four servants and a groom and to retire at an early age. 161

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269

Loudon visited Rendle's nursery in 1842 and included it in a Gardener's Magazine

report, however, the description was short compared to that for Pontey' s nursery,
possibly as a result of Rendle's absence when he called:

This [Rendle's nursery] also contains a very long straight walk with many fine
specimens ranged on each side, together with rockwork, basins of water,
aquatics, and a number of houses filled with greenhouse plants, Cdcti, heaths,
Orchid&ceae, bulbs, new tropaeolums, rare pelargoniums, and various other
articles; the whole in excellent order. 162

The firm of Pontey in Plymouth was established by William Pontey at the end of the
eighteenth or beginning of the nineteenth century. Certainly there was a William Pontey
in Frankfort Street in 18 12. 163 What is equally certain is that they were related to the
Ponteys of Yorkshire. Both Alexander Pontey and his nephew Edward, his book-keeper
and clerk, were bom at Kirk Heaton, Yorkshire. Edward was the son of William Pontey

in Kirk Heaton, nurseryman. They were probably related to the William Pontey cl780-
1831, who was famous for his treatises on trees, and who styled himself as a
Nurseryman and Ornamental Gardener and Planter to the Late and Present Duke of
Bedford. 164

John Pontey had two nurseries, one at Cornwall Street, the other at Vinstone, just
outside Plymouth, The business initially specialised in forest trees. Alexander Pontey
joined John in about 1814 and worked alongside him. They supplied plants and trees to
the Bastard, Treby, Strode and Ilbert families, and regularly supplied Saltram with every
garden requisite from vegetable seeds to a variety of trees. 165 In 1834 John Pontey
assigned his whole business to Alexander. This included 'considerable property'
consisting of gardens, fields and nursery grounds at Plymouth and Compton:

...with the Hothouses Greenhouses Warehouses stable shed and buildings theron
and of Frames Tools and Implements Horses and carts with their Tackle and
Furniture and of Plants Shrubs and Crops Seeds and other stock in Trade and
household goods and furniture and shop fixtures.

There were also shares in the South Devon United Shipping Company and the Plymouth
and Dartmoor Railway Company. All was deeded to Alexander except John's 'writing
desk printed books apparel and ready money'. In return John Pontey was to receive an
annuity of one hundred pounds per year to be paid to him during his life. 166 Alexander
took over control of the nurseries in October 1834. A few days before the assignment

Chapter Six: The fclite: Nurserymen of Devon

270

deed was drawn up he had married a widow, Mary Lyne Snell nee Rowe. 167 John
Pontey continued to live with Alexander and his wife until his death in 1854.

As merchantmen, often with managers to run their businesses, nurserymen became
involved in related industries. They were men of capital who invested in land and
property, for example Robert Pince, in addition to his nursery business was also
proprietor of Lucombe's Horticultural Buildings. 168 By 1842 Alexander Pontey had,
like William Rendle, expanded his business. He partnered his brother-in-law to run the
Pontey, Rowe & Co., Bone Manure Manufactory in Plymouth. Loudon was fascinated
by the factory and wrote:

The machinery, which is impelled by water, is very powerful, and the quantity oi
bone-dust produced in an hour is so great, that we cannot venture to put it down
The greater part of the bones are imported, and among them are human bones

examined

high, the foreigners find it worth

and

inserting nails and other pieces of old iron in the hollows and

the injury they do to the cylinders is very great indeed. There is a heap of <
iron weighing several tons, the whole of which has been extracted from 1
bones by the women. When in Bavaria in 1828, we saw immense quantities
human bones in the charnel houses, the sculls having them names which tl
bore when alive written on their fronts, and being arranged on shelves, and

other bones lying in heaps on the floor. We do not suppose these skulls hi

t probable that the other bones are now manuring

turnip fields of England

169

The business, to which customers were invited to watch the manure making
continued until the company was dissolved in I860. 170

When Alexander suddenly died in 1862 he left everything to his widow. An attempt was
made to sell the business which included the leases on the nurseries at Plymouth and
Vinstone, the business premises and stores 'which are most conveniently situate near
the market', as well as the 'plant, which is of the most modern construction'. It appears
that the business did not sell as Mary Lyne Pontey continued to run the business for a
further nine years before it was purchased by Robert Serpell.

Functions of Nurseries

The purpose of a nursery was first and foremost the provision of plants but it also
fulfilled many other functions. Nurseries sold ideas, dreams and status as well as plants.

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon

271

Perkin maintained 'Professions live by persuasion and propaganda, their services
indispensable to the client, employer, society or state'. 171 Through their advertisements
and their catalogues, nurserymen encouraged garden owners to display their wealth and
education, collectors to obtain the rarest plants, the middle class to emulate the gentry
and aristocracy, and offered a showcase for plants for all to see. Inventions such as a
small version of the Wardian case which could be used for indoor fem gardens, or to
protect plants from the fumes of gas lights and coal fires, enabled those who could not
afford, or did not have the room for, a conservatory of their own, to have an indoor
'glasshouse'. This helped the increase of sales to the middle class.

Plants were purchased by landowners, from a variety of nurseries, not all of them in
Devon. For example a garden such as Pentillie, one of the top gardens on the borders of

Cornwall and Devon, bought from widely differing places including Veitch of Chelsea

and Williams in London; from Ponteys and Theodore Cuerel in Plymouth and from
Truro the Treseders and Nichols. The Duke of Bedford' s agent at Endsleigh bought
tulips, crocus, roses, violets and heaths from Pontey at Plymouth, hedging plants from
Rendle in Plymouth, and annuals from Lucombe and Pince in Exeter. 173

John Harvey collected 320 nursery and seedsmen's catalogues which dated from 1677

to 1850 but complained of 'the extreme rarity of catalogues and especially of those
marking prices'. 174 In 1857 the editor of The Floricultural Cabinet bemoaned the fact
that many catalogues were being lost having been thrown away 'after serving a
temporary purpose'. 175 Later catalogues were intended to be kept. Messrs Fraser & Co
of Queen Street, Exeter, seed merchants, 'have made an attractive annual of their
descriptive trade catalogue enclosed in an ornamental wrapper' .

176

Although many nursery and seedsmen produced catalogues to advertise their plants and
seeds, some were little more than lists of plants available and few have been found for
Devon nurserymen. 177 James Sclater produced a hand-bill in about 1865 of 'The Newest
and Best Fruits of the Season' (see Figure 6:5). Aimed at 'all first-class Growers, and
particularly to Market Gardeners' , it was a practical document and had no need to be
colourful or attractive. The list detailed plants on offer. Strawberries were sold by the
hundred; raspberries, currants, and gooseberries by the dozen; filbert, quince, medlars,
pears and apples were priced individually from Is each to 5s each. At the bottom of the

Catalogues and

178

Chapter Six: The fclite: Nurserymen of Devon

272

This was a common phrase used by nurserymen. Catalogues, although
application', were not sent out to all and sundry in the hope of sales.

Figure 6:5. Handbill of James Sclater of Heavitree

TIE IEWEST AM BEST FRUITS OE THE SEASON.

Messrs. JAMES SCLATER <fc Cfc, Devon Nurseries, Heavitree, near Exeter, as the Largest Fruit Growers
in (he West, can with confidence recommend these. New and Superb Fruits to all first-class Growers, and par Ocularly
to Market Gardeners,

STRAWBERRIES.

RASPBERRY.

CURRANTS.

THB GOLDFIN D ER,— The earliest Strawberry grown ; Fruit, large ; oolor, brilliant ec&rlot ; very solid i
fine flavoured ; great cropper ; very hardy. 10s. per 100.

TBS PEARL.— The most productive known ; over 200 Fruit have been gathered from one plant ; Fruit, fine I
crimson color, and Pine Apple flavoured. 21s. per 100.

8IR JOSEPH PAXTON.— A new variety ; highly recommended ; obtained several first-olass Certificates at
the London Shows. 21a, per 100.

TUB SEMPER Fl DELIS.— A most distinct and wonderfully productive sort; very hardy ; canes of great
strength ; Fruit, extra large, and of pleasing red oolor ; the best GO*, per 100, or 12a, per dozen.

PRINCE OF WALES.— A fine early sort ; canes very strong ; Fruit, large, red, and fine flavoured. 21s. per
100, or 4s. per dosen.

IMPROVED BLACK NAPLES.— Most productive ; fruit very .Urge ; the finest Black Currant 4s. per dos.
WHITE TRANSPARENT.— The finest White. 4s. per dosen.

GOOSEBERRIES.

LA HATIYE— The earliest Red ; brilliant la oolor and moat productive. 4s. per doken.

BABY CASTLE,— The true sort j the finest Red Currant ; Fruit, large, productive, and hardy. 4*. per dosen.

MAT DUKE. — The finest early Bed ; a great cropper ; recommended. 6s. per dozen.

NAPOLEON.— A very distinct and remarkable sort ; Fruit, Pear shaped j very large, and one rough crimson
Bed ; keeps well, and does not burst ; recommended. 12s. per dosen.

LONDON.— True sort ; largest Bed known. 6s. per doaen.

FILBERT.

QUINCE.

MEDLERS.

FEARS.

APPLES.

UNION.— A new Hybrid Nut ; very large, and most productive. Is. 6d. each.
PURPLE LEAVED.— Like leaf of Purple Beach ; useful and ornamental. Is. each.
FEAR SHAPED.— Very productive ; standards. 2a. 6d. each.

THE STONELES8.— Hardy and ornamental ; very great bearer ; standards. 8s. 6d. each.

THE BRITISH QUEEN.— A new Pear; highly recommended. RaUod at the Royal Gardens, Windsor. 5a. each.

GENERAL TODTLEPEN .— A large late Melting Pair from Belgium ; a first-class Fruit in Deoember and
February. 2s. 6d. each.

MARCHAL DE LA COUR.— A large Melting and Juicy Pair, from Belgium ; bearing in dusters ; a fine
November Pear ; recommended. Is. tft each..

LORD BUFFIELD.— The finest Kitchen Apple known ; certain cropper ; Fruit large ; skin a pale yellow,
with bluish on sunny side. Is. 6d. each.

EMPE BOB NAPOLEON.— New ; the finest 8ummer Apple In cultivation ; Fruit, large and productive ;
skin scarlet crimson, with fine bloom. The best Summer Tahla AnnW 2a. ftd. mMi

Dessert Apple ; a great

/. SCLATER & CO. have (he largest Assortment of aU tite Newest and Best Fruiit ; also a fine Slock of

^Ornamental and Forest Trees. Catalogues and Prices sent on application.

Source: DRO 3004A/PFA 215.

A large company such as James Veitch & Co would have had several comprehensive
catalogues and price lists. Their catalogue of Select Stove Plants, Aquatics, Greenhouse
Plants, Camellias, Azalea Indica, and Ericas (1853-4), was eighteen pages long,
although still little more than lists of plants with prices. They had separate lists for other
categories of plants and trees. Hortus Veitchii, ostensibly a history of the company, was
in reality little more than a catalogue of some of their more important introductions.

Chapter Six: The frite: Nurserymen of Devon

273

Nurserymen educated the public about gardening methods through their catalogues and

books, although, being salesmen, not all catalogues were totally accurate. Jane Loudon

cautioned her readers that:

Nurserymen put down a great many more names in their catalogues than they
have different kinds of plants: and thus the same plants like the actors in a
country theatre, are often made to perform under a great many different names in
the same niece. 180

Many nurserymen were influential in stressing the importance of manures and bringing

new equipment to the notice of their customers, some of which they had designed
themselves. They also lectured at horticultural shows, and gave prizes to encourage
wider participation in horticulture. Frequently catalogues were not just lists of plants but
gave instructions on how to plant and care for new acquisitions, a gardening calendar

was often included. It is not known how many catalogues were ordered at any one time
or what the distribution was expected to be for any Devon nurseries but Thomas Nicholl
of Truro ordered 200 catalogues to be printed in September 1 842. He supplied over
forty major gardens in Cornwall with plants as well as Powderham and Endsleigh in
Devon. 1 8 1

Technical innovation also aided the growth of nurseries in the same way that it had

helped private gardeners. Improvements in the way that glasshouses were built, together
with new heating and ventilating systems encouraged propagation of half-hardy and
tender exotics. Nursery proprietors developed and advertised new products such as
insecticides and manures and frequently acted as agents for specific products such as
'Lawe's Patent Super Phosphate'. 182

In addition to plants, nurseries also sold essential garden tools such as pruning knives,
and new equipment as it became available, including lawnmowers, garden rollers, mats
to protect plants from bad weather, flower pots, pesticides, and fertilisers. This part of
the business grew more extensive as more equipment, tools, chemicals and cure-alls
came onto the market. 183

Nurserymen acted as middle men in several ways. In the same way that a head gardener
was placed in a responsible position between an owner and the rest of the garden staff,
nurserymen were placed between a variety of industries and their customers. They
acquired plants and seeds from specialist growers, often importing from nurseries

Chapter Six: The Slite: Nurserymen of Devon

274

abroad, to sell to their customers. Joseph Knight of the Exotic Nursery, Chelsea,
travelled to France and Holland to purchase plants, he also bought from William Baxter
who collected in Australia and imported plants from Brazil and China. 184 Veitch and
Lucombe imported seeds and plants either through agents or by sending out their own
plant-hunters. They were frequently agents for the sale of insurance, which included the

Nurserymen, Market Gardener's and General Hailstorm Insurance Corporation

Limited. 185 As discussed in Chapter Two they also acted as employment agencies for
professional gardeners seeking work. 186 The advantage to the gardeners was that a
recommendation from a top nursery such as Lucombe, Pontey or Veitch counted for
something when they were job-hunting but not all gardeners were happy with the pay
they received while waiting for a position to be found, claiming they were paid less than
the permanent nursery staff. 187 Good relationships with head gardeners ensured a ready
made loyal customer base and a place where trials could be held in local gardens.

and their wives from many Cornish

• • 188

gardens as well as from Endsleigh in Devon.

Local, regional and national horticultural shows and exhibitions led to competition
between nurserymen, which in turn led to improvement of the quality of plants. This
might be production of tastier fruit and vegetables, disease resistant varieties or hardier
versions of imported exotics. The quality of plants was important, new plants were
expensive, flowering shrubs were comparatively cheap at 3d or 6d each but exotics and
some bulbs could cost several guineas for each plant. 189 However, there were still
complaints that plants were lost because the 'roots were all rotted':

We have, in fact, to recollect that nurserymen and florists strive to grow plants as
rapidly as they can for the sake of getting them to a saleable size: and probablv a
greenhouse plant, in some hands, hardly ever receives greenhouse treatment. 19

Plants therefore needed to be good quality and hardy, or customers would not return.
Prizes awarded ensured that competition was always fierce. This also led to
specialisation of particular nurseries or nursery departments, who concentrated their
energies on one species of plant such as roses, fuchsias or dahlias. Some exhibitions led
to problems for the exhibitors, for example at the Royal Devon and Cornwall Botanical
and Horticultural Society Show on May 2

urns

ruined by the number of cuttings purloined

visitors to the show'. 191

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon 275

Nurserymen grew their produce for commercial reasons; to make money. They would
therefore use the latest methods. In their gardens would be found hot-beds, frames,
glasses and glasshouses. The 'nurseryman's stock' which was auctioned on the
bankruptcy of James Searle, proprietor of Searle's Street Gardens, included:

3 box frames 100 foot long with 23 lights ea. 700 12" [inch] Empty Potts,
do. [ditto]; 1,000 5" do.; 1,000 6" do.; 1,000 pots of Various sizes, p
Boxes, Syringe, 2 Watering Pots, Matting, Wheelbarrow, Ladder, 200 ;
Canvas, garden Tools, Stoking Tools, Stakes, Twine, Scales and Weights
Table. Boxes. Barrels, Leaf Mould, Thermometer, Steps &c. 192

The short list of equipment above implies a very small establishment run by a manager
on behalf of Searle.

Searle was also proprietor of Addiscott' s in Exeter St Thomas. This had been a much
more extensive business, having been established prior to 1816 when Chown and
Addiscott took over from William Morton on his death. 193 The nursery was run by
William Addiscott and his son Henry. When Henry died in 1 875 the business was not
run by his sons who had already left Exeter. When the contents of this nursery was sold
there were 477 lots which covered everything from the plant stock, tools and equipment,
boilers and pipes, even the contents of the office. The latter included a mahogany desk,
a counter with a mahogany top, a letter press, a stool and desk, a nest of drawers and the
final item, an '8 day clock', all of which give a poignant view of the inside workings of
a nursery that had lasted for about eighty years. 194

Tasks of Nursery Workers.

Loudon, naturally, detailed the tasks that he expected a nursery proprietor to undertake.
These began with the 'correctness in the names given to plants and seeds' and included
production of a catalogue, careful packing and prompt dispatch of goods, paying
sufficient wages 'as may not tempt [workmen] either to idleness or pilfering themselves,
or to countenance these practices in others', and ending with the importance of frugality
and neatness.

There are few records, however, of the work undertaken by the workers in the nursery
gardens but it would have been similar to garden and plantation work on an estate with
more emphasis on growing plants for production. Below (Figure 6:6) is a list of tasks

Chapter Six: The fclite: Nurserymen of Devon

276

undertaken at the nursery at Buckland Abbey at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The amount of weeding done demonstrates the importance of keeping the ground clean.

Marshall had commented on how the ground was 'commonly covered with straw,
weeds, brambles, or other vegetable matters, to check the rising weed, and to assist in
keeping the ground mellow and moist; as well as to meliorate the soil'. 196

Work done at Buckland Abbey nursery

Date

Task

December 12 1800
April 281800

December 1801
June 25, July 6,
September 30 1802

November 19 1802
November 30 1802
December 8 1 802
December 1 1 1 802
December 13 1802
December 14 1802

December 15 1802
February 1 6 1 803
February 19 1803
March 3 1 803
March 26 1 803
May 41803
23 1803

Hacking over the nursery

Taking off superflues [sic] Branches of grafted apple
trees. Pruning. Staking trees.
Planting acorns. Taking apple trees out of the nursery
Weeding in the nursery

Planting gribels* in the nursery

Assisting planting Ceydars [sic] of Lebanon

Taking up Larches &c.

Staking Cedars

Packing shrubs

Putting in Quick by the heels & Tending ws
Staking Trees and putting in j ars for catchir
Transplanting laurels and putting in laurel c
Sorting Thorn plants

Spreading Compost

Planting Larch in Nursery
Weeding

Saml. Mellish

s work weeding nurseries

young apple trees raised from seed or the stock on which they are grafted.
Source: DRO 346M E9-E10.

Trees were frequently transplanted from one plot to another, this was thought to
strengthen them and also made them easier to take up when sold as thev had not had

time to put down extensive roots.

Many of the ornamental trees are transplanted
the height of 10 or 12 feet, at which they pi
planted out in pleasure-grounds. 197

second year till they attain
an immediate effect when

Eventually machines were invented which helped this process. When Lucombe and
Pince sold their nursery trees at the Hillside nursery in Exminster, 'the land being too
far from home for convenient use as a nursery', the auctioneers advertised that 'the
proprietors will place their transplanting machine at the disposal of the purchasers and
will remove at mere cost of labour and packing when required'. 198

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277

Thomas Nicholl did not include many details of the work that was done on his nursery
but the few tasks he did list give an insight into the stock that he carried which included
apple and forest trees as well as fruit and vegetables. The most common entries were
'sowed fir seeds', and 'grafted apples in the moor' (see Figure 6:7 for a sample of the
entries from Nicholls diaries). 199

Figure 6:7. Work done at Thomas NicholPs Nursery, Redruth

Date

Task

26.03.1834

Grafted apples in the moor

13.05.1834

Sowed fir seeds

18.09.1834

Whitewashed all houses

24.03.1835

Planted 25 roses in moor sent in error from Bristol

28.09.1835

Potted Ilex

27.02,1840

Planted potatoes in nursery

31.03.1840

Sowed early turnips

07.05.1840

Planted pineaster seedlings

05.03.1845

Went to market with seeds today for the first time this

season

29.11.1847

Very busy taking up trees for Burncoose

25.03.1848

Sowed Guano

07.02.1849

Myself to Mr Treweeks with the seeds

13.02.1850

Sowed tree and onion seeds in the field today

31.07.1850

Begun to train Peach Trees in the field

23.01.1851

Took up and planted the roses in the moor

24.04.1851

Sowed oaks

13.05.1851

Planted kidney beans in the nurserv

Source: CRODDX 119/1-2

What neither of these charts show is work in glasshouses, nor packaging and marketing,
although Nicholls did attend a market regularly during the summer.

Another important role of a nurseryman was that of garden design. John Veitch offered
a design service before and after he established his nursery. Lucombe and Pince
produced plans to be implemented by head gardeners and included a laying out and
planting service. 200 Even William Mogridge, seedsman of 1 4 Bridge Street, advertised
'ornamental planting executed'. 201 Although they charged for the service, and must have
been working to the owners' wishes, they became fashion setters using their influence
to persuade customers to purchase the latest plants to add to their collection. Gardeners

from the nursery would be contracted to do the work and if necessary to continue with
the maintenance.

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278

Devon nurserymen developed new plants for the market. This was done through a
system of trials to see how a plant grew under different conditions. John Harvey
suggested the interval between the first introduction of a new species and their

Oft*)

availability and affordability through nurseries could be as long as ten years. This
may have taken even longer for some species which were difficult to get established. It
was known that Pontey, for example, had problems getting the Pita seeds to germinate
until success was achieved 'by macerating the seeds in water for a week previous to
germinating'. 203 Killerton was used for trials, as was Bicton. 204 The advantage to the

owner being that they could boast of the latest imports standing in their gardens without
the necessity to purchase them and was an additional reason to keep on good terms with
local nurserymen.

Having established how a plant grew and its requirements, the next procedure was to
undertake hybridisation experiments to * improve' the plant for the general market. John
Dominy, John Seden and John Heal, the latter originally from Barnstaple, were
hybridisers for Veitch. John Dominy began his work at Lucombe and Pince but was
soon poached by Veitch to help with hybridization in their new glasshouses. 205 He
raised the first orchid hybrid to be produced in cultivation. Calanthe 'Dominii' in 1853.

He also worked with fuchsias. Initially based at Exeter, he moved to work for Veitch in

Chelsea after 1864 206 Robert Pince was also a noted hybridiser. The purpose of
hybridisation was to make plants more floriferous, or more uniform in size, and to
improve the quality and reliability of plants. If customers spent a lot of money on plants
they did not want them dying as soon as they were transplanted into their own gardens
or glasshouses.

Staff

Nurseries tended to have a much larger permanent staff than market gardens. This was
due to the intensive nature of production for the market. Staff were needed to stoke the
boilers, to care for the plants, for packaging and dispatch. Carters were used to collect
manure and peat and to deliver goods to customers. A book-keeper or clerk kept track of
orders, wrote invoices and corresponded with customers. Mawson marvelled that he had

had the opportunity to write to Gertrude Jekyll, Dr. Hogg, Dr. Ellacombe, Robert

Marnock and William Robinson while a mere clerk in an office 207 Managers remained
in place, often for long periods. William Johnson managed the Courtney Nurseries in

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279

Newton Abbot for 52 years, being awarded the RHS Associate of Honour
1930 for his work there.

The term 'foreman' had a more important connotation in the nineteenth century. Many
were not just in charge of one particular nursery department but were managers, who
ran the nursery in the absence of the proprietor. Some of these men had sufficient status
to be included in local directories as did George Coles and John Wotton both of

Alphington Road, Exeter St Thomas. 208 Loudon comments:

This is an important situation, the foreman being entrusted with the numbered
and priced catalogues of the articles dealt in; authorized to make sales; intrusted
to keep an account of men's time, &c, and in consequence it entitles the holder
to the rank of head-gardener while so engaged. 209

However, this trust was sometimes misplaced as seen by a notice inserted in the Exeter

Flying Post dated February 23, 1 824, which reads:

Lucombe, Pince & Co Nurserymen St Thomas near Exeter Beg to state for the
information of their Friends and the Public at Large, that in consequence of the
MISCONDUCT of their late Foreman WILLIAM FRYER, they have been
compelled to DISMISS HIM from their EMPLOY; that we are necessitated to
declare, we shall not be answerable for any orders he may give in our names 9 md

our Friends against SETTLING

PAYING HIM any MONEY on our ACCOUNT, HE HAVING BEEN
DISCHARGED BY US AS AN UNWORTHY SERVANT 210

Travelling salesmen, who often had the status of foreman or manager, took samples of
seeds and plants with them on visits to other nurserymen or to private gardens or

horticultural shows. They acted as salesmen and ambassadors and as the eyes and ears
of a nursery, since they were in a position to see what other nurserymen were
producing. Travelling salesmen from Devon included William Napper who worked for
Lucombe and Pince and Frederick Brewer who was both a foreman and a travelling

Oil

salesman for Veitch. If a client was important enough, the proprietor of the business
would visit himself, dealing direct with the customer.

Commercial travellers visited other nurseries who were at the same time rivals and

colleagues. They purchased plant material and seeds from each other to grow on or sell
direct to customers. Thomas Nicholl in Redruth received visits from Dymond, Pontey,
and Rendle from Devon. Alexander Pontey visited in 1834, 1836, 1837 and 1842,
Rendle in 1834 and 1835, as did Mr Charm, traveller for Veitch, on July 14 1846. He
also entertained Cornish nurserymen, and had annual visits from the traveller from a

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280

Bristol nursery. Nicholl and his sons also travelled out of Cornwall, visiting nurserymen

212

in London and Exeter.

Working Conditions of Nursery Gardeners

As seen in Chapter Two, nurserymen were responsible for training young gardeners,
both those who went on to become estate gardeners and those who remained in the
commercial sector. In similar fashion to estate gardens, trainee gardeners lived in
bothies. In 1861 William Chambers, William Franklin, John Parkhouse, and William
Hill aged from 19 to 22 lived in the bothy at Mount Radford Nursery. This had been
home to Robert Chudley, George Richards and John Sercombe in 1851. Other trainee
gardeners were lodged with foremen, journeymen or labourers who lived near the
nursery. At St Thomas in 1861 four young gardeners lived with James Coombes and his

family in Alphington Road: James and his son were also gardeners. These men all

213

worked for Lucombe and Pince.

James Veitch and Son in London trained young men, many of whom later became the
head gardeners of the early twentieth century:

Any out of work gardener could gain a place in the nursery for a wage of ten
shillings a week, with board and lodging found. If his work was of a sufficient
standard for him to be presented with a knife and an apron, then a job would be
found for him in one of the many private gardens throughout the country. 214

Sons of nurserymen usually trained elsewhere other than in their family nurseries. For
example, James Veitch Junior trained in London at 'Alfred Chandler at Vauxhall and
William Rollinson of Tooting', specialists in camellias and heathers respectively. 215 The
business network ensured that sons could gain experience in the top nurseries or travel

abroad for their training.

Working gardeners in nurseries were not highly valued, and like all members of the
profession were poorly paid:

My wages were six shillings a week, and no more, in consideration that I was to
have instruction for the labour performed. ...Two of the gardeners had, like me
6s a week: one has 6s 6d the other three had 7s. Twenty to thirty other young
men who lodged without at 8s in the hope of getting a situation through the
interest of the employers. A few were master gardeners out of place, submitting
to work for 9s a week in the hope of getting other situations as master. A few

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon

281

were regular hands, continued from year to year at 9s a week, - men who had
broken down in reputation as gardeners'. 216

In Exeter, Mr. Davey, foreman to Charles Sclater, lived in one
entrance to the nursery. Employed by Sclater to sell fruit and veg
wage of 7s per week, with coals, candles, and vegetables provided.

217

In common with all gardeners, workers in nurseries worked long hours both summer
and winter. Thomas Mawson had to catch a train at 5.45am to be at work at Mr Wills'
nursery in London, just after 6 am, although he did have half an hour for breakfast and
an hour and a quarter for his lunch. Glass houses were too hot for comfort, potting
sheds were unheated. Not much could be done about the greenhouses, although Loudon
suggested that the latter be remedied:

We should have liked the power of heating the potting shed, the men, by being
rendered more comfortable do much more work, and the plants are likely to be
the gainers. 219

Records for 44 businesses, where staffing numbers are known, show that most
undertakings were fairly small in terms of the numbers of permanent staff employed.
The majority of nurseries employed between one and five people (see Figure 6:8.). Not
surprisingly, the largest employer was James Veitch who in 1 85 1 had 47 acres of land
and employed a total of 65 men and seven boys. By 1882, Lucombe and Pince, with 4 a
little town of glass' on its 100 acres, employed between 50 and 60 people. 220 In 1851,
Alexander Pontey and William Rendle of Plymouth employed 22 and 26 people
respectively, the latter including two women. Joseph Morgan of Torquay had a staff of
23 employees and William Steward of Plymouth employed 20 men and 3 boys. James
Sclater in 1861 employed '20 people' and in 1881 William Rossiter of Paignton
employed 1 5 men and 8 boys. At the other end of the scale, Thomas Fursman of
Bideford had just 2Vz acres and 'employed his own family'.

221

These figures are only an indication of the total numbers working in nurseries as
insufficient records have been found to give definite numbers. Neither is there sufficient

evidence to show whether these numbers grew or declined over the period studied. Most

nurseries employed members of their own families and this was true of Thomas Nicholl
in Redruth. He employed his Uncle Edward and, when his uncle died in 1837, replaced
him with a cousin, also called Edward. Not many women are listed as nursery

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon 282

gardeners. Jenny Harry was named as 'our weeder' at Nicholls although he actually
employed three women, and Nellie Turner worked as a labourer in a nursery at Sowton

in 1901. 222

Figure 6:8. Number of staff employed by nurserymen

Date

1-5

6-10

11-15

1851

1861

1871

1881

1891

Total

16-20 21-25 25-30 30+

3 1 1

1 2

2 4 12

Source: Gardener database and census returns.

As seen above, the size of nurseries varied. The largest businesses were on the outskirts
of London where the Bagshot and the Knap Hill Nurseries had more than 200 acres

each. 223 These acreages, whether in the London area or in Devon, were rarely all held
in one parcel and comprised land both purchased and leased. The Knap Hill Nursery
had at least six different sites which varied in size from 5 acres to 60 acres; the Veitch
family in Devon had eleven plots of land in and around Exeter.

224

Running Costs of Businesses

Without records it has been difficult to ascertain the running costs of a nursery business.
Glasshouses would have been expensive to heat, stokers were needed to keep the boilers
running and the houses would have needed constant repair. In the early years before
heating systems were standardised, nurseries experimented with many different designs:

The troughs used by Mr. Corbett in the nurseries of Messrs Lucombe and
Pince, at Exeter, and which Mr. Pince pointed out to us last year, and spoke in
the highest terms of, are of cast-iron, 8 inches deep, 6 inches wide at the top, and

wrought-iron covers, in 3 -feet length:

be required.

226

drier or damper atmosph

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283

Packing sheds were needed to assemble plant orders, 'plants travelled in straw and mats,
sometimes with moss round roots or in wicker baskets' . 227 The cost of packaging to the
customer varied from just a few pence to being a considerable part of the bill. In 1836
Alexander Pontey charged William Roope Ilbert a total of 7s 6d for a basket, a bag and
packing. On a bill of £37.9s.2d, this was not a great deal but the previous year the
'basket, matt and Dackine' was chareed at 5s out of a bill of £4.5s.3c

228

The

packaging was an integral and accepted part of the cost of the plants, which tells us that

the purchasers were willing to pay the price for specific items.

Thomas Nicholl spent an average of £20 over three years in purchasing manure for his

nursery. 229 Both Alexander Pontey and William Rendle purchased 'black earth' (peat)
from the Maristow estate which was collected from Walkhampton Common at 2s 6d a
cartload. Pontey took 54 cartloads in the years 1844-45. The largest outgoing for a
nurseryman would have been wages. Nicholls paid out an average of £13 1.5 s a year for
three permanent staff and five casual staff. This was 53 per cent of his annual outgoings.
Individual wages varied from thirteen shillings a week to twenty-six shillings a
month 230 His son John was paid £52 a year, the equivalent of a head gardener's salary.
Other expenses included rent, tithes, rates, income and other taxes plus purchase of
stock, the latter accounting for thirteen per cent of his annual costs. His discounts and
expenses of collecting annual accounts came to almost ten per cent.

Nurserymen would have found it hard to prosper without the financial support of land-
owners and charities. The Exotic Nursery in the King's Road, Chelsea, bought by James
Veitch in 1853, had been founded by Joseph Knight, a head gardener to George Hibbert
a merchant and a keen plant collector who traded with the West Indies. He supported
Knight from 1 808 by giving him plants from his own garden. When Hibbert died in
1837, Knight bought his collection of plants, hence the name of the nursery. 231 It was

William

financially by Thomas Balle at

Mamhead; as he had been a former gardener there 'for many years'. 232 Sir Thomas

Dyke Acland had supported Veitch at Killerton and it was an Acland who loaned £320

to James Sclater in 1 867 233

Nurserymen leased their land from the gentry, the aristocracy and charities; they also
borrowed money to purchase a lease or freehold. Landlords included the Guardians of
the Poor in Exeter, George Watson of Rockingham Castle, The Reverend Richard

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon

284

Mason, Mark Kennaway and William Thomas at Raleigh House. 234 Thomas Hutchings,
of Axminster, had a mortgage of £200 from The Lyme Regis Oddfellows which was
nnid hack over a period of six vears with five oer cent interest. 235 Thomas Roberts, in

Yelland

Budeaux. 236 The Radcliffes of Warleigh House, Tamerton Foliot leased land to both
nurserymen and market gardeners. The leases were unusual in that there were two levels

and a high rate if 'in war', to be paid quarterly

payments.

For most land the rental term was usually seven, fourteen or 21 years but land could be
held on an annual tenancy. James Veitch had one plot of land on an annual tenancy as

did Mrs Sercombe in Exeter.

237

Formerly leases for life were very common here [in Devon], having been granted
generally by necessitous landlords for nominal rents, and the value of the land at
about 18 years' purchase. Of late, leases for lives have been discontinued, and in
their stead have been generally substituted leases for years™

term

highest bidder. This did not lead to security of tenure and were a disincentive to invest
in the land, in particular in buildings or stock that took years to grow to maturity. Leases
do show that in certain cases that nurserymen had the right to remove buildings, trees
and plants which were placed on the land during the tenancy. In other cases the
incoming tenant had to pay for the manure in the ground, or purchase 'timber now
growing on premises... at a fair valuation. 239

Within a three mile radius of Exeter agricultural rents in 1850 were from 30s to 50s per

acre. 240 Rent for nursery land was generally more expensive than purely agricultural
land. Those who had large quantities of land and were farmers as well as growers such
as Mary Ann Baker of Axminster and Samuel Bale of Landkey, paid agricultural rates
of £1.5s an acre. However, for most nurserymen the price of land varied from the £4.16s
an acre that Susannah Hull paid in Tamerton Foliot in 1819 to £11. 12s an acre paid by
Arthur Bustard on land rented in St Sidwell from the Guardians of the Poor in 1872.
This could still be considered to be cheap land when compared with Robert Glendinning
of the Chiswick Nursery, London who, in 1867, paid £90 per annum for *a piece of
nursery ground, about 4a Ir Op' 241 This equated to just over twenty guineas (£21) an

acre.

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon 285

There were frequent restrictions on leased land. These included hunting, shooting and
fishing rights which remained with the landlord, as did mineral rights. The lessee was
required to 'keep in good complete and substantial repair all and every part of demised

premises. 243 In 1897 William Henry Sclater's lease stated he was required to paint the
outside of his greenhouse and shed with one coat of good oil colour every year and
inside once every 4 years. The land had to be kept in good heart and sometimes the
manure was specified:

To spread before the first crop shall be sown, fifty double Winchester bushels of
good well burnt stone lime to be afterwards mixed with earth or 200 seams of
good well rotted stable dung in lieu thereof. 245

Amos Groombridge was *not to use garden or cottage for a tea house nor sell spirituous

alcohol nor carry on any trade in the said dwellinghouse'.

246

Nurserymen had a symbiotic relationship with land-owners. Alexander Pontey of
Plymouth, for example, leased a field for at least twenty-two years from 1833 to 1855
from the Ilberts at Bowringsleigh for between ten and eleven pounds a year, while at the
same time supplying the estate with trees, bulbs, seeds and plants 247 He also bought
'black earth' from Maristow and supplied trees, manure and seeds for Maristow and

OA ft

Roborough gardens.

Competition

Apart from overt competition at horticultural shows, competition in business was also
expressed through tenders for orders. In 1895 Saltram ordered 10,000 larch, 2,000
mixed firs, 1,000 Silver Fir, 1,000 Corn Ash, and 1,000 English Oak at a total cost of
£7.7s from William Wiseman in Forres, Scotland, carriage paid, 'sent down the west
coast route as the Gt Westn Ry people do not now allow us to send traffic for stations
on their line via London as I used to do for quickness' . These were little more than
seedlings being from VA foot to 2 foot in height. Wiseman assured Mr. Holmes the
Agent that the trees would come to no harm as 'they are carefully packed'. 249 He quoted
for a further order for 16,000 Scotch Firs at 22s 6d per 1,000 delivered free. 250
Quotations from William Bray of Okehampton at 25 s per thousand for small trees, and
32s 6d and 45s from Robert Veitch, made it worthwhile to have them shipped all the
way from Forres despite a possible delay in delivery. 251 Goods weighing less than a ton
could take five or six days in transit. Heavier items took two days to travel the same

Chapter Six: The £lite: Nurserymen of Devon 286

distance and nurserymen often dispatched orders to several customers at a time to make

up the weight. The cost of trees from Veitch would have been twice that of those
from Forres, Either his success and his overheads led him to price himself out of the
market, or he had decided he did not wish to fulfil this particular order.

The timing of advertisements was crucial. Nurserymen who sold mostly forest trees
would advertise during the autumn and winter which was the best time for trans-
planting trees with a degree of success. There were advertisements for spring bulbs and
the latest bedding plants in season. Advertisements were also a way of informing as
many people as possible what was happening to a nursery before postage became cheap
enough for general postal communication. Change of ownership was one item that was
important enough to be communicated through the newspapers. For example in 1796
John Lucombe, grandson of the first William Lucombe, bought the premises of Joseph

Ford following his demise, although Ford's widow continued to run the business for at

following

253

This must have engendered a source

for the Lucombe family as these two nurseries had been rivals for many years. John
Lucombe in 1807 also had 'lately much increased their long established Nursery on the
Alphington and Plymouth Road, St Thomas, Exeter, by addition of the ready furnished
Nursery Ground, lately belonging to William Ford and Son\ thereby acquiring land of
yet another previous rival.

Wealth

Nurserymen were highly competitive among themselves, although they could just as
easily close ranks and support each other against those on the edge such as market
gardeners and aspiring nurserymen like Vanstone in Exeter. Perkin maintains that this
was part of membership to the middle class:

[The middle classes] were in some ways more segregated and exclusive than
' society' itself, because they could not afford to be so tolerant of infiltrators and
'freeloaders', or, rather, its various layers and segments were mutually and
plurally exclusive, with minutely refined gradations of status, expressed not only
in dress, style and location of house, number of servants, and possession of
personal transport in the form of a riding horse, carriage and pair or pony and
trap, and other visible possessions, but in the intangible rules about who spoke
or bowed to, called on, dined with or intermarried with whom. 255

Chapter Six: The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon

287

Wills illustrate the wealth of nurserymen, where they had invested their time and
fortunes and how they distributed their wealth. The purchase and building of property
was not only an outward manifestation of wealth, but was also the equivalent of money
in the bank to be used as a pension fund, an investment which could be leased or sold
when times were hard, or passed down to widows and children. When William Ford
died in 1 829 he left eleven houses to be sold, many of them newly built, and several
with four or more bedrooms. All had been let to provide a source of income. He also
had long-term leaseholds to be sold on nursery-garden plots, this despite being bankrupt
only three years earlier. Money left to daughters often had a clause 'not to be subject
to the control of any husband*. This, at a time when the wife's property automatically
became the property of a husband, allowed some protection of funds and provided some
independence for women. It also demonstrates the importance of keeping money,
property and the business within families to enable the family to keep the place in
society which had been so hard won.

Nurserymen appeared in lists of voters, had bank accounts, and enhanced their status by

fulfilling important civic roles in society. George Cox was a member of the Board of
Guardians at Exeter, Robert Pince was appointed to St Thomas Board of Health, and
Alexander Pontey was a Councillor.

The number of servants kept was also an indication of wealth. This was true for a
nurseryman's customers, but equally so for aspiring middle class nurseryman and head
gardeners:

All who could kept servants, since in the labour-intensive Victorian middle-class
home, with its still large if diminishing family, coal fires and kitchen range
heavy laundry work and overfurnished rooms, comfort depended on service. 260

Joseph Morgan of Torquay had two house servants as did Alexander Pontey. Samuel
Bale of Landkey had a cook, a housemaid and general servant in 1881. 261 Robert Taylor
Pince proprietor of Lucombe and Pince, was a widower when he died. He left money to
the people who had worked closely with him before his death. These included his
servants who each received £10, and members of his workforce. Harriet Ashford his
housekeeper received £600 which was the same amount as his late wife's niece and
more than most of the other legatees. He left £50 to John Chown who had worked for
the nursery for at least twenty years as a labourer, packer and groom and £50 to his
book-keeper. He also left £50 to his foreman Samuel Randall, but rescinded that in a

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon 288

codicil as Randall had left to start up his own business in competition with Lucombe
and Pince. The majority of his estate was left to his nephew and successor William
Robert Woodman,

Summary

The backing and encouragement of local landowners created psychological and moral
support which enabled nurserymen such as Veitch, Pontey and Lucombe to experiment
with new plants in order to remain at the top of their profession. The Veitch nurseries
remained successful largely because their plant hunters ensured a steady supply of
exotics to appeal to the most avid of collectors. They also had sufficient wealth to retain
experts such as skilled hybridisers and designers. Frederick Meyer who worked for
Veitch for thirty years created rock gardens from Oundle in Northamptonshire to

Bystock near Exmouth; the articles and books that he produced all enhanced the
reputation of his employers. 263

More than one hundred nurseries were listed in the 1897 Kelly's Directory, some of
these were third generation such as the Allwards in Torquay and the Bales of Landkey.
Many nurseries lasted for several generations, handed down through family or business
links where land was sold or leased to other nurserymen. Land that had been regularly
tended and manured was productive; purpose built buildings already on site did not
need capital investment for initial building, only for maintenance and replacement. This
helped stability as purchasers remained loyal to a site as well as a name. Those on the
outskirts of towns survived the longest, there being less threat from urban expansion,
but the placing of nursery sites within easy reach of town centres ensured a steady
supply of customers who visited to admire the plants and place their orders.

As knowledge increased, propagation became easier and mass production methods led
to reduced prices of seeds and plants bringing them within the price range of a much
wider range of customers, while expensive rare plants ensured some exclusivity for their
wealthier customers. It was a balancing act that the nurseries had to maintain to please
all people all of the time. The more successful nurseries had wide markets, both for
purchase and sale of material, operating on a local, regional, national and international
level. Those nurseries which did not diversify, or could not move with changing
fashions in plants, such as the Southwoods went out of business. 264

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon 289

Nurseryman also influenced what was grown in most of the gardens in Devon
during the nineteenth century. Relationships with head gardeners, carefully
cultivated, led to the placement of orders for seeds, equipment, plants and trees.
Nurserymen used every device available to them to generate interest from their
wealthy customers, from advertisements in the local press to demonstrating their
products at horticultural shows and in shops on their premises.

Without nurseries many young gardeners would not have had such a good start in their

careers, nor would they have found jobs in prestigious gardens. However, in order to
benefit their own businesses, nurserymen had a vested interest in keeping wages low.
They could have used their undoubted influence with their customers to ensure that
gardeners had a decent working wage and infinitely better working conditions, but they
did not.

Nursery proprietors formed part of the successful merchant-class. Some, like the
Dymonds in Exeter and the Nicholls of Redruth, were non-conformists, putting their

energies into business interests. Through their catalogues and books or as judges at

horticultural shows, they educated the general public into what was fashionable, they

instructed their customers in what was important and what was not. Competitors in
business, but supporters of each other when necessary, as individuals, nurserymen were
very influential in the gardening world. An ostentatious display of wealth demonstrated
the success of the major nursery families as 'unquestionably at the head of their
profession'. 265

1 J. C. Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (London, 1822), 1216.

2
3

(London,

,. j — - - ^ — - — — ✓ — • *£^w+mr *W hTM *W V 4 W\

Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1216.

* For example William Craggs at Clyst St Mary, Henry King at Upton Pyne and George Moundsden at
Lifton.

5 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1201.

6 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1201.

7 Trewman 's Exeter Flying Post (EFP) 20.11.1817,4c; Nott, Hewett & Co stated * seeds procured from
best markets', and 'can warrant accuracy and growth' see also EFP 4.02.1836, 2d.

8 T. K. Hodder, buttons at Reading' in The Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society (JRHSL 89, 5
(1956) Reprint, 1.

9 EFP 28.1 1.1816, 3d; 30.11.1828, 3d.

x0 Census (1851): population tables, part II: ages, civil condition, occupations and birthplaces of the
people (PP 1854 Ixxxviiii, vol 1); Census (1881) Volume III, Ages, condition as to marriage, occupations
and birth-places of the people (PP 1883, lxxx).

Census (1891) Volume III, Ages, condition as to Marriage, Occupations, Birthplaces and Infirmities
(PP 1893, cvi); Census of England and Wales (1901) Summary Tables, Area, Houses & Population; also

Chapter Six: The filite: Nurserymen of Devon

290

population classified by Ages, Conditions as to Marriage, Occupations, Birthplaces, and Infirmities

(London, 1903).

xxvn

(1861): Population tables, vol II ages, civil condition, occupations and birthplaces of the people (PP

1863, liii, pt 1); Census (1871): population tables, vol III: population abstracts: ages, civil condition,

... . Ixxi ,

Sidmouth, 1851; PRO RG9 Exeter St Thomas and Tamerton

iation. The Book of Fair Devon (Exeter. 1 899-1 900V 21 .

15 Fair Devon, 60.

tinces

17 The Handbook of North Devon, with A Trip on the Crediton and North Devon Railways (Exeter,

1878-9.

William White, History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon (White

n See Kelly's, Directory of Devonshire (Kelly's) 1866, 1873, 1883, 1889, and 1897: Pigot and Co.,
National and Commercial Directory and Topography Devonshire (Pigot 's Directory) 1 844 and White
Directory 1850 and 1878.
19 DRO3004A/PFA215.

20 EFP 07.08.1834, 2f; 06.06.1850, 8e; 01.08.1850, 5d; 17.03.1880, 8c.
21 EFP 17.03.1836, 2c.

22 Source: Directories of Devon from Pisot's Directory C1830) to Kellv's H897V

23 0„ I'-Jf-.'- ZIO^ M J lOTJY

White

1851 to 1881.

Winkleigh

When widowed Ann Sooer became a fruit

flower dealer.

Thomas, 1881. Newton

Malcolm Thick, 'Garden seeds in England before the late eighteenth century

Agricultural History Review (AgHR), 38, 1, 58-71, 58.
"Kelly's 1889; Kelly's 1866.
28 EFP 07.10.1824, 4e.

Axminster, 1871, 1881, 1891; Kelly's (1889).

nen earned just 'Id or 2d a peck for shelling peas, or t

it earns them lOd or Is per day'. See Andrew Mearns

Lambeth,

Outcast London: An Inquiry into the Condition of the Abjea
London Poor 2 nd edn (London, 1883), 13.

31 Census PRO HO 107, St Saviour Parish, 1851.

32 Census ?RO RGU 1881.

33 DRO 62/9/3/40/8.

34 Census PRO RG1 1-12 Kensington 1881, St Alban's 1881

35 EFP 15.1 1.1882, 4c.

36 Gardener's Chronicle (GC) 14.10.1871, 1330.

E. J. Willson, West London Nursery Gardens: the nursery gardens of Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith,
Kensington and a part of Westminster , founded before 1900 (London, 1982), 6.

38 Sue Shephard, Seeds of Fortune: A Gardening Dynasty (London, 2003), 22-23, 279.

39 Cornwall Record Office (CRO) CY/1093, Cuerel supplied plants and seeds from 1869 to 1882.

40 PWDRO 1345/57.

41 PWDRO 1345/59,62.

4 * PWDRO 74/729 and 74/uncatalogued, Kitley; PWDRO 69/M/6/1 16 Saltram; CRO CY/1093 Pentillie.

Kelly's, (1897), p73; The Garden 30.1 1.1895, 427; Devon Weekly Times (DWT) 22.1 1.1895, 5b.
44 Morris ' Directory (1 870).

43 John Harvey, Early Nurserymen (London, 1974); Suzanne Treseder, A Passion for Plants: The
Treseders of Truro (Penzance, 2004).

46 James H. Veitch, Hortus Veitchii (London, 1906); Audrey le Liewe, 'To the Nobility and Gentry Aboi
to Plant': Nurseries and Nurserymen' in Steven Puglsey (ed.), Devon Gardens: An Historical Survey
(Stroud, 1994), 91-105.

47 Shirley Heriz-Smith, "The Veitch Nurseries of Killerton and Exeter, Part 1 cl780 to 1863', Garden
History 16:1 (1988), 42-57; and 'James Veitch & Sons of Exeter and Chelsea, Part 2 1853-1870', Garde
History 16:2 (1988), 135-153.

48 Shephard, Seeds of Fortune.

49 See for example, Trevor Wood, 'Notes on raisers of Devon Plants', NCCPG Devon Group Newsletter,

»,™l f S * 5 * 6; N> G * Lan S don > 'Lucombe, Pince & Co - Lucombe Oak (Quercus Lucombeandy ir
NCCPG Devon Group Newsletter, Autumn (1995")

Chapter Six: The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon

291

50 CRO DDX 119/1, June 28 th 1838; DDX 1 19/2 September 7 th 1846; September 24 th 1846.
31 EFP 2.03.1843, 3a.

52 EFP 01.05.1828, 2d

53 Torquay and Tor Directory and General Advertiser, 1 1 .09. 1 846, 2a.

54 Glass tax was not removed until 1845.

35 EFP 02.03.1820, Id.

36 DRO QS/34/148a; QS 32/261; QS/32/303; QS 32/344a and 336.

37 DRO QS/32/217:352:376; Devonshire Chronicle (DC) 4.3.1851,4e; £>0T 8.03.1 851, 8a.

38 DC 4.3.1851, 5a.

39 DRO 62/9/3/67/42b.

60 EFP 1 1 .0 1 . 1 85 1 , 6c/d.

61 EFP 12.10.1848, 4b; 27.09.1855; 8f, 23.1 1.1854, 5e; See also EFP 28.10.1847, 3f, John Hooper,
Honiton.

62 Their stock consisted of forest trees, so they were apparently selling the right product.

63 EFP 13.03.1817, la, George Huxham, North Huish; EFP 29.06.1815, 4b; 21.09.1815, 4e.

64 F.M.L. Thompson, Gentrification and the Enterprise Culture: Britain 1780-1980 (Oxford, 2001), 18.
63 EFP 3.07.1845, 3f; 27.09.1855, 8f.

66 EFP 2 1 . 1 0. 1 824, 4d; 0 1 . 1 2. 1 825, 1 a.

67 GMS (1832), 129-130.

68 DRO 62/9/3/67/29a-b; 62/9/3/40/8.

69 John Harvey, Early Gardening Catalogues (London, 1972), 2.

70 Harvey, Early Nurserymen, 5.

71 John Evelyn, Sylva, or a Discourse of Forest-trees, and the Propagation of Timber (London, 1664),
115.

72 Stephen Switzer, Ichnographia Rustica: or, The Nobleman, Gentleman and Gardener 's Recreation Vol
1 [London 1718] (New York & London, 1982), 208, 211.

73 Malcolm Thick, 'Seed Growing', 69.

74 DRO 346M/F221-2, F295, F379.

75 DRO 48/13/1/14/17; DRO Zl/10/758 and DRO Z10/42.

76 DRO 1 148M 1784-85 'Gathering acorns'; 'Picking fir cones for seed'.
"DRO 346M/E10; DRO 346M F273, 310, 311, 318, 333, 337, 363, 424.

78 DRO 346M/E 1 0.

79 DRO 346M/F222, F379.

80 DRO 346M/F222.

81 DRO 346M/F448 April 1762 Nicholas Rowe to Sir Francis Drake.
82 CRO DDX 119/1 Feb 18 1834.

83 Clinton Devon Estate Archives, Land Agents Letter books, Book 3/190 and 235.

84 Oliver Rackham, The History of the Countryside (London, 1986), 190, 224.

Thirsk, Alter nat

1 997), 51.

86 rrrrn i r

Chown

PWDRO 69/M/6/154, 156.
EFP 9.01.1817; 16.01.1817, and 23.01.1817, 4d.

89 DRO 316M add3/FA7/75 ; 3 1 6M add 3/FA12/32.

90 PWDRO 69/M/6/44/99-157.

91 John Hawkins, 'On the advantages of planting Forest-Trees amongst Furze' in The
Repository 5, (1824), 132, 210-213.

92 DRO 316M add3/FA7/75.

93 GM 18 (1842), 156.

94 CRO DDX 1 19/2 (1845-6).

95 William Marshall, The Rural Economy of the West of England 2 nd edn Vol. 1 (Lorn

96 Marshall, Rural Economy, 213.

97 PWDRO 74/762; DRO 316M/EA/15; 867B/E2/9/1.

98 NDRO B172/16; EFP 24.08.1848, lb.

99 DRO DD6658/Correspondence 1810/7.

100 DRO DD6658/Correspondence 1810/1 Charles Scott to Thomas Hare January 6 1
2 DRO 316M add 3/FA7/75; PWDRO 874/21/1 Folio 178 (1834).

103 R0bCIt Newton ' Eighteenth Century Exeter (Exeter, 1984), pl46.
W - G " Hoskins, Two Thousand Years in Exeter (Sussex, 1963), 96.

104 Newton, Eighteenth Century, 146.

105 EFP 2 1 . 1 0. 1 824, 4d.

106 EFP 1 6.02. 1 826, 4d.

101

Chapter Six: The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon

107 EFP 17.11.1831,2b.

log EFp i5.04.1830, 3d. Three walled gardens advertised as building land. EFP 18.02,1880, la.

109 M. C. Lowe, 'Devon Local Carriers', The Devonshire Association Report and Transactions 130
(1998), 111-136, 120.

110 Torquay and Tor Directory, & General Advertiser 28.08.1846, 2c.
111 DWT 04.0 1.1 895, la.

112 CRO A/2/149/1-9 Trelaske family, Cornwall.

113 The Floral Cabinet and Magazine of Exotic Botany 2 ( 1 83 8), 9 1 - 1 00. Pontey raised Ipomoea
Schedeana named after Dr. Schiede. Once established, seeds were sent from Pontey's to Botanic Gardens
and other Nurserymen. Other seeds trialled at Ponteys included the rouge plant from Caraccas, sent by Mr
Fanning, which produced a red pigment see GMS (1831), 99.

114 The Times 3.09.1827, 4c.

115 Letter from W. Hamilton, Plymouth dated August 5* 1831 entitled 'The Pita de Guataca, a plant
affording a valuable Fibre for Cordage &c.,' in GM 8 ( 1 832), 240-24 1 .

116 GM 10 (1834), 596. Samples of ropes made from the pita plant were compared for strength with those

made from hemp.

117 GM6 (1830), 526.

118 John H. Harvey, 'Early Nurseries at Exeter', Garden History Society Newsletter 24 (1988), 17-18, 17.

119 Robert T. Pince, 'An Account of some remarkable Trees now growing at Mamhead, the Residence and
Property of R.W. Newman, Esq., situated about Eight miles from Exeter' in GM 11 (1835), 127-132, 132.

120 John and George Telford, A Catalogue of forest-trees, fruit trees, ever-green and flowering shrubs,
sold by John and George Telford, nursery-men and seeds-men, in Tanner-Row, York (York, 1775), 7.

121 EFP 14.10.1813.ld.

122 Besleys Directory, (mS);White's Directory, (1850), 91; John Caldwell, 'A Provincial Horticultural
Society', Devons hire Association Transactions, 92 (1960), 104-115, 110-111.

123 Caldwell, 'Horticultural Society', 112.

124 GM 11 (1835), 488. Quotation from a long report in EFP, 25.06.1835, 4a/b/c, sent to Loudon by a
correspondent from Exeter.

125 NCCPG, The Magic Tree: Devon Garden Plants History and Conservation (Exeter, 1 989), 1 7.

126 The Magazine of Horticulture, Botany and All Useful Discoveries and Improvements in Rural Affairs
(Boston, 1857), 23, pi 30.

127 GM 17 (1841), 86.

128 GM 17 (1841), 86.

129 DRO DD6658/1 811/10; The History of the Parsonage at Chevithorne unpublished notes; NDRO
B172/16; DRO 867B/E8/1; PWDRO 69/M/6/116; DRO 867B/E2/9/1; DRO 4243M/E78; S. Heriz-Smith
♦Veitch Nurseries Part 1', 41-57; NDRO B170 add/127; DRO Z19/20/36; DRO 2547M/E64; Todd Gray,
The Garden History of Devon: An Illustrated Guide to Sources (Devon, 1995), 204; DRO
1392M/119/34/3; GM 12 (1836); SRO DD\SF/4249.

130 DRO 1 148M 1784-5, January 22 1784 'to Exeter with the young Thorns to W Lucombe and to bring
things in return'.

131 Anne Acland, A Devon Family (London, 1981), 22-25.

132 Gray, Garden History, 100 (Escot); DRO 346M/E386 (Nutwell Court).

133 Heriz-Smith, 'Veitch Nurseries part 1\ 43-45.

134 Heriz-Smith, 'Veitch Nurseries part 1', 41; Shephard, Seeds, 50.

135 EFP 15.04.1830, 3d.

136 EFP 15.04.1830, 3d; The Gardener's Magazine 14.10.1882, p546.

137 EFP 8.09.1791.

138 Shephard, Seeds, 50.

139 Heriz-Smith, 'Veitch Nurseries Part 1', 46.

140 Shephard, Seeds, 123.

141 Shephard, Seeds, 135.
,42 Shephard, Seeds 133-4, 163-4.

143 EFP 23.03.1815, 4c; 09.10.1828, 2c.

144 EFP 15.10.1835, lb.

145 EFP 16.12.1769; 23.10.1778, 2c; 3.03.1796, 3c; 16.11.1797, lc; 23.03.1797, lc; 23.03.1815, 4c;
15.10.1835, lb; 28.01.1836, 3f; Census PRO HO107, RG9 Exeter, 1851 and 1861.

146 W. G. Hoskins (ed.), Exeter Militia List 1803 (Chichester, 1972), 95-6, 102.

147 EFP 0 1 .07. 1 824, 4e.

148 DRO D6/10/1; EFP 21.02.1828, 2e.

149 EFP 6.03.1834, 3a. DRO D6/10/2.

150 Art IV. 'Report on rare or select Articles in certain British Nurseries and private Gardens* in GM 19
(1843), 34-40, 38-39.

Chapter Six: The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon

293

151 Census PRO RG1 1 Exeter St Thomas, 1881.

152 DRO 3004A and adds/PFT 92, 94; DRO 3004A and adds PFA 208, letter from James Sclater to
Trustees of Heavitree Charity dated 28 February 1852.

153 DRO 3004A/PFA 219, December 6 1879.

154 DRO 1 142M add/l/T8/24.

155 GM, 19(1843), 309-10.

156 EFP 20.06.1 850, 8e; Illustrated London News 3.08.1 850.

157 EFP 24.08.1848, lb.

158 EFP 20.06.1850, 8e.

159 PWDRO 2666/10.

160 EFP 29.04. 1852, 4c/d.

161 Census PRO RG9 Weston Peverill, 1861.

162 GA/18, (1842), 546.

163 The Picture of Plymouth (Plymouth, 1812), 205.

164 See The Forest Pruner or Timber Owner's Assistant. A Treatise on the Training or Management of
British Timber Trees; Whether Intended for Use, Ornament, or Shelter; Including an Explanation of the
Causes of Their General Diseases and Defects With the Means of Prevention, and Remedies, Where
Practicable: Also an Examination of the Properties of Oak Woods(\Z0Q). He also wrote The Profitable
Planter (Huddersfield 1808) and The Rural Improver (1822).

165 PWDRO 864/25; 72/296; 74/729; DRO 316M add 3/FA7/54, 75; 69/M/6/112; 69/M/7/28.

166 PWDRO 1 145/57.

167 EFP 16.10.1834, 2c.

168 DRO 53/6 Box 103/6.

169 GA/18 (1842), 546-547.

170 Billings Plymouth Directory (1857), 35; The Times 31.03.1860, 5a.

171 Perkin Rise of Professional,^.

172 CRO CY/1093; DRO 69/M/6/1 16.

173 DRO L1258M/V4/4/4, 21.

174 John Harvey, Early Horticultural Catalogues: A Checklist of Trade Catalogues issued by firms of
Nurserymen and Seedsmen in Great Britain and Ireland down to the year 1850 (Bath, 1973), iii.

175 The Floricultural Cabinet and Florists Magazine 01.1857, 134.

176 EFP 04.01.1882, 5d.

177 In the Papers of Alfred Burrow Esq, County Coroner, Cullompton there are catalogues for William
Bray and Sons of the Dartmoor Nurseries at Okehampton, for G. Frost of Bampton, together with details
from Clibrans of Hale, Altrincham and John Hill & Sons of Stone in Staffordshire. See DRO 4244M-
OAT/1/29.

178 DRO 3004A/PFA 215 n.d., but on reverse a letter dated 7 Oct 1865.

179 Billings Plymouth,35.

180 Jane Loudon, Gardening for Ladies: with a Calendar of Operations and Directions for Every Month in
the Year 7 th edn (London, 1846), 203.

181 CRO DDX 119/2.

182 DC 13.05.1851, la.

l83 PWDRO 74/729; DRO 867B/E2/9/1; DRO Z19/20/36.

184 Willson, West London Nursery Gardens, 49.

185 Established in 1895, one hundred policies had been issued in the first four months of business, to cover
6,720,832 square feet of glass, valued at £80,542.2s.3d., see The Garden, 21.06.1895.

186 PWDRO 74/729 invoice to E. YL Bastard at Kitley.

187 Sensitivus of Yorkshire, 'On the Treatment which Gardeners out of Place generally receive from the
Nurserymen, and the Consequences resulting there from' in GM2 (1827), 36-38.

188 CRO DDX 119/1-2.

189 James Veitch and Son, A Catalogue of Select Stove Plants, Aquatics, Greenhouse Plants, Camellias,
Azalea Indica, and Ericas (1 853), 4.

A Lady, Every Lady 's Guide to her own Greenhouse, Hothouse, and Conservatory: Instructions for
cultivating plants which require protection (London, 1 85 1), 23.

191 GM 10 (1834), 595.

192 DRO 62/9/3/40/8.

193 EFP 3.10.1816, 4d

194 DRO 62/9/3/67/29a.

195 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1217.

196 Marshall, Rural Economy, 213.

197 J. C. Loudon 'Report on rare or select Articles in certain British Nurseries and private gardens', GM
19 (1843), 34-39.

Chapter Six: The felite: Nurserymen of Devon

294

198 EFP 21.01.1880, lc.

199 Nicholls used land as part of his nursery which he refers to as 'our Moor(e)' for plants which included
'shrubs, flowers and roses'.

200 pwdro 74/729, invoice to E. R. Bastard at Kitley from Alexander Pontey.

201 EFP 17. 11. 1836, 2d.

202 John Harvey, Restoring Period Gardens 2 nd edn (Princes Risborough), 17.

203 Letter from W. Hamilton, Plymouth dated August 5 th 1 83 1 entitled "The Pita de Guataca, a plant
affording a valuable Fibre for Cordage &c.,' in GM 8 (1832), 240-241.

204 Bicton Park Botanical Gardens Newsletter 11 (2004), 5.
203 Veitch, Hortus Veitchii 99-100.

206 Veitch, Hortus Veitchii, 99-100.

207 Thomas H. Mawson, The Life and Work of An English Landscape Architect (1927), 17-1 8.

208 White's Directory (1878).

209 Loudon, Encyclopaedia, 1200.

210 EFP 23.02.1824.

211 DC 4.3.1851.

212 CRODDX 119/1-2.

213 Census PRO HO 107, RG9 for Exeter St Thomas and Heavitree, 1851, 1861.

214 The Times, 22.05.1958, 12f.

2,5 Heriz-Smith, 4 Veitch Nurseries Part 1', 47-8.

216 Alexander Somerville, The Autobiography of a Working Man (London, 1848), 148.
2,7 EFP 18.12.1828, 3a.

218 Mawson, Life and Work, 15.

219 GM7 (1831), 356.

220 The Exeter Nursery in EFP 21 .06.1 882 taken from GC.

221 Census PRO RG1 1 Bideford, 1881.

222 CRO DDX 119/1-2; Census PRO RG13 Sowton, 1901.

223 E. J. Willson, Nurserymen to the World: The Nursery Gardens of Woking and North-West Surrey and
plants introduced by them (London, 1989), 13, 25.

™ Willson, Nurserymen, 1 1 .

225 A former foreman of Ponteys.

226 Charles Mcintosh, The Book of The Garden, Vol 1. Structural (Edinburgh & London, 1853), 199-200.

227 Willson, West London Nursery Gardens, 5.

228 DRO 316M add 3/FA14/48; DRO 316M add3/FA14/20.

229 CRO DDX 119/2; PWDRO 874/3/50.

230 Wages paid to gardeners 'out of place' but working in Lee's nursery in London amounted to 12s a
week- see GM3 (1828), 468.

231 Willson, West London Nursery Gardens, 49.

232 Pince, 'Remarkable Trees', 127-132.
233 DR01148Madd/l/78/25.

234 PWDRO 407/200, 262, 282 Reverend Walter Raleigh to John Brown; DRO D6/34/2 Guardians of the
Poor to Arthur Bustard; EFP 7.09.1815, Lord Courtenay to Robert Gay; PWDRO 1 122/220 George
Lewis Watson to Amos Groombridge; PWDRO 1345/58 Reverend Richard Mason, to Pontey and
Serpell; DRO 1 148M add/1/78/21 William Thomas to James Veitch.

235 DR0 5156B-0/T/2.

236 PWDR0 81R/4/8/1.

237 EFP 5.08.1877, lb; DRO 1148M add/1/78/21.

238 Whites 35.

239 See NDRO BC/154/38; 1 142B/T3/1; PWDRO 1345/58; DRO 3004A/PFA 220; 3004A and adds PFT
92; EFP 11.07.1816, Id.

240 White's 1850,35.

241 The Times 01.03.1867, 12b.

242 PWDRO 407/200

243 PWDRO 407/200

244 DRO 62/9/2 box 1164.

245 PWDRO 407/200

246 PWDRO 1 122/220 Tothill Garden Nursery, Plymouth.

247 DRO 316M/EA/15, 19 & 20; 361M add 3/FA10/39; 361M Add3/FA14/21-22, 48.

248 PWDRO 874/3/56.

249 PWDRO 69/M/6/44/99, 116.

250 PWDRO 69/M/6/44/128.

251 PWDRO 69/M/6/44/1 17, 131.

Chapter Six: The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon

295

252 P WDRO 69/M/6/44/1 60.

253 EFP 3.03.1796, 3c; 25.05.1797, 3b.

254 EFP 22.10.1807, lb.

255 Perkin, Rise, 8 1 .

256 EFP 21.01.1830, 2c.

257 P WDRO 1302/416.

258 See, for example, William Addiscott, Thomas Fryer, Sampson Reynolds, Charles and John
John Richard and William Southwood, and James Turner in 1832; Henry Addiscott, Arthur B
William Hayman, John Heard, Robert Pince, Charles, Edward, George and James Sclater and
Veitch in 1864. A List of the Voters at the Exeter Elections which took place Dec 10 and 11 li
1833) and Besley Directory, (1864).

259 EFP 23.1 1.1854, 5e; White's (1850).

260 Perkin, Rise, 78.

261 Census PRO RG1 1 Landkey, 1881.

262 DRO 53/6 Box 1 03/6.

263 GC 09.04.1881, 474-475; The Garden, 18.08.1906, 74.

264 Bolhay nurseries established by 1771, stock mostly forest trees.

265 GM 19 (1843), 63.

Chapter Six: The Elite: Nurserymen of Devon

296

CONCLUSION

The principal aim of this thesis has been to chart the increasing professionalisation of
gardeners, especially those at the top of their career, and to clarify and quantify the part
played by these men in the development of gardens and horticulture in the nineteenth

century within the county of Devon. This was an exciting era for gardening with many

houses and gardens being remodelled or created in the county. Towns expanded,
providing homes in suburban villas; the wealthier middle-classes bought small estates
and built their own country houses. Gardens echoed the ambitions of an increasingly
urban society, nostalgic for country living, 'inspired in part by the conviction that the
countryside was morally and physically healthier than the towns', 1 but who wanted to
avail themselves of all the new plants and inventions available to those who could now
afford them. The overfull, eclectic gardens of the Victorian nouveau riche could not
have been achieved without an articulate, knowledgeable and professional manager to
care for the garden and his input into the development of a growing horticultural
industry.

The climate of the south-west enabled a wide variety of gardening practices. The sea-
ports created a market for produce and were the means whereby plants were brought
into the county from around the world; many were trialled in Devon before reaching
London and other parts of the country. Tourism brought ideas into the region and
demands for leisure activities in parks, public and winter gardens. Those who over-
wintered or spent the summer season in the county, in villas on the coast, created
employment opportunities for jobbing and private gardeners and a market for
nurserymen and market gardeners. Much of the interest in gardening, which spread

across and down through the classes, was fuelled by contemporary horticultural

journals, pamphlets and gardening books. Gardening came to be seen as a healthy
hobby and a benefit to many. Workhouses and industrial schools taught the practical
craft of gardening. Asylums encouraged gardening among their patients as a therapeutic
activity which benefited both mind and body.

Overall there are two noticeable recurring themes throughout this period which applied
nationally, not just in Devon. Firstly, the conspicuous consumption of the middle-
classes which drove forward the gardening industry, and secondly the emphasis on
education, both of the garden owners and those employed in gardening, manifesting

Conclusion

297

itself in a new approach to training and opportunities for those employed as gardeners.
The new-found purchasing power of businessmen, the clergy, and professional men, led
to a corresponding growth in commercial gardening. Specialist nurseries, already part of
the commercial society, supplied gardens and houses with 'exotic' plants. They widened
their business interests from plants to ancillary products contributing to and becoming
part of the expanding British Empire. Market gardeners supplied basic foods and luxury
items, not only to an expanding urban population without land of their own, but also to
those whose horticultural interests moved away from purely food production to display
of new plants in arboreta, pleasure grounds and glasshouses. As they sought to widen
their markets, they changed from small family run enterprises to compete with nurseries
as successful commercial concerns. The increase in the number of all gardeners both
private and commercial throughout the nineteenth century echoed the expanding
fortunes and leisure time of the masses. Employment of a head gardener who exhibited
at horticultural society shows became a sign of middle-class scientific education and
affluence.

This thesis has looked at an area not previously researched in Devon. It acknowledges
the vast numbers of men, and women, employed within the horticultural industry and
has added to our knowledge of the working lives of gardeners. Whilst some of those at
the top of their profession in Devon have been documented, most notably Barnes at
Bicton and the Veitch family of Killerton and Exeter, as David Stuart noted, 'very little
at all is known of the immense numbers of apprentices, journeymen and jobbers, or of
the itinerant boys, children and old women employed to pick caterpillars from the
vegetables' . Through the use of new material, based on a wide variety of primary
sources including the census and estate records, this study has gone a long way to
address that situation, especially in recognition of those who worked in the burgeoning
commercial sector. The large database, compiled from these sources, helps to bring
previously unknown people to life. More than fifteen thousand men, women and
children have been traced who were involved in gardening during the nineteenth century
in Devon alone. Some trained as gardeners and remained in the profession all their
lives, but others used gardening as a short tern career, moving in and out of the
profession as necessary. This was especially true of garden labourers, boys and women.
Gardening also lent itself as a secondary occupation to many artisans where jobs were
seasonal, or which could be undertaken alongside their other work, these included

Conclusion 298

thatchers, miners, inn-keepers, butchers and carriers; dairymen had small plots of land
for production of fruit, flowers and vegetables.

This study gives an insight into the investment needed to become a professional
gardener. This included the practical training, often paid for through premiums to top
head gardeners in prestigious gardens, and the length of time, and the number of
physical moves needed to climb the career path from garden boy to head gardener.
Movement within different branches of the industry was encouraged and men frequently

moved from private establishment to the commercial sector and back again. Although
seemingly these were discrete areas of work, in fact, they were linked through a network
of head gardeners, nurserymen and garden workers.

Many men worked and studied for long hours, albeit their achievements did not merit
the monetary rewards or improvements in terms and conditions that might have been
anticipated by comparison with other commercial or industrial sectors such as
engineers, lawyers and architects for example. Working conditions did not improve
substantially throughout the period studied. The accommodation offered to single
gardeners was frequently poorer than that of the plants that they cared for. Bothies
remained cramped, dark and damp without facilities right through into the twentieth
century. 3

Gardeners were also for the most part self-supporting, their isolation in their work did
not encourage the formation of unions or protective, professional societies, such as
those suggested by Perkin as necessary to enhance the professionalisation of an
occupation. 4 The few organisations such as the United Gardeners' Benevolent Society,
that did exist to help in times of sickness and retirement, forbade financial contributions
after a gardener had reached thirty-five. As it was not until they were this age that they
became settled financially, many men had maintenance problems as they aged. 5 Despite
efforts in the horticultural press, and the formation of garden associations, gardeners
never banded together for protection and self-help in the way that other artisans did.
Therefore their concerns were never addressed by employers. 6 However, for a few elite
gardeners, notably head gardeners and top nurserymen, as with other * achievers' in the
Victorian era, their education and specialisation led to financial reward and an
enhancement in their status in what was an increasingly class based society. The success

Conclusion

299

of the few, Paxton, nationally, Barnes and Veitch locally, written about in horticultural
journals, set the standard of aspiration for increasingly skilled horticulturists.

Trainee gardeners were educated internally within estate or nursery gardens by
instruction from their superiors and through making use of whatever journals and books
were available. External education was increasingly implemented through visits to, and
study at, botanical gardens, horticultural colleges, and with other gardeners. As Loudon
maintained in 1827:

a gardener cannot be even moderately acquainted with his profession, or fit for
even an ordinary situation as master without, 1. Such a preliminary or
elementary education as will prepare his mind for deriving instruction from
reading; and 2. A course of reading, both varied and extensive, on the subject of
his profession. 7

If the Royal Horticultural Society examinations had been available in Loudon's time, he
would have doubtless suggested studying for them as they acted as tangible proof of
time and effort put into acquiring the best education possible and therefore enhancing a
gardener's professionalism. Those who had education succeeded, those who had not,
did not. However, education was not just about attaining and keeping a satisfactory
position, it was also useful for the communication of knowledge and new ideas. It
enabled head gardeners to talk with both garden owners and to manage a garden staff. It
also helped to reinforce the differences between garden labourers and career gardeners,
and kept career advancement exclusive to those who put in the time and the effort to
obtain the best education possible. Victorian values of ambition, education, hard work
and determination had the potential to lead to success which, in turn, led to economic
security and independence.

By the 1870s a clearly defined career path for professional gardeners had been
determined. Gardeners had to be able to prove they were capable of understanding
botanical and practical skills and that they were able to specialise in one department if
necessary. In order to do this, they commited their time, energy and money to gain a
practical, theoretical and social education which helped them progress to a successful
future. By the end of the century the training of apprentices was no longer the sole
prerogative of head gardeners. Technical schools and horticultural colleges provided
tuition for the RHS examinations. 8 These were open to anyone prepared to undertake
two years study and included amateurs and women. Top head gardeners continued to
train apprentices and journeymen. They also used their experience and knowledge to

Conclusion 300

educate and inform those less knowledgeable through their writing and as judges at
horticultural shows.

The spread of theoretical knowledge of horticulture increased the number of men
seeking jobs within the industry, but with working gardeners split into two discrete
groups, garden labourers and career gardeners. The garden labourers, men and women,
are often dismissed as unskilled workers but frequently had specific skills such as
pruning and grafting. 9 As the increasing use of chemicals and mechanisation of tasks

reduced the need for menial labour, women were seen less frequently in private gardens,
their place being taken by garden boys and labourers, although they still had their place
working alongside family members in market gardens and nurseries. 10

Changes in technology had the biggest impact on a gardener's working life, although
overall tools, equipment and methods changed little. The introduction of chemicals for
pest control was welcomed, but as labour was cheap and plentiful the old methods of
hand-picking slugs, snails and caterpillars continued into the twentieth century. 1 1 Filling
an ice-house was no longer necessary as it was cheaper to buy 'artificially-made ice
...at a cost of one penny or less per pound. 12 Mechanical improvements which

influenced working practices included the invention of the lawn-mower, although few

are recorded in Devon until the 1880s. 13 The rapid spread of glasshouses, led to a need
for specialist botanic skills of indoor gardening. Nurserymen diversified into production
of fertilisers and new manures; this led to enhanced productivity in all gardens.

Despite the respect in which many gardeners were held, this was not demonstrated in
their wages and salaries, nor for the lowlier gardeners, in their social status. Although a
garden labourer had been elevated above an agricultural worker, it was only by a small
amount. Even within the industry there was a two-tiered system. Jobbing or temporary
gardeners who worked in nurseries while looking for a permanent position were paid
less than regularly employed workers. Men in nurseries and market gardeners were paid
double the overtime that was paid in private gardens. Holidays were almost non-
existent, and apart from being allowed to leave a little earlier on a Saturday afternoon by
the end of the century, working hours hardly changed and remained similar well into the
twentieth century. There was little provision for hobbies and leisure activities that were
not directly concerned with their gardening life. Some gardeners played cricket for the
estate or village team, this was accepted as part of their job in the same way as they

Conclusion

301

were expected to take on a variety of tasks from serving in the house or acting as a
fireman when required.

A low wage was one factor that kept gardeners working well into their old age, mobility
in their profession meant that they did not always make provision for the future. Many
worked well into their seventies, but gardeners during this period were long-lived, more
than twelve per cent lived to be seventy or more (see page 92). The outdoor lifestyle
combined with access to fresh vegetables and fruit helped.

By the beginning of the twentieth century it was the college trained middle-class women
who were beginning to compete with professional gardeners for positions in the garden.
The availability of a large pool of labour was one of the reasons why a gardener did not
command the pay which recognised his education, skills and abilities.

The increasing numbers of professional garden journeymen, foremen and head
gardeners were recognised by society for their competence and understanding of their
business. The top men in private gardening were the professional head gardeners who
had reached the peak of their profession. They successfully fulfilled a management role
overseeing the production of produce for the family, but also bringing kudos to a garden
owner through skills of plant propagation. It has been shown that, in Devon, head
gardeners remained in one garden longer than the average elsewhere, but that they
might have had to move many times before finding a settled situation. It was possible,
especially at the beginning of the nineteenth century, to rise from humble beginnings to
become a top head gardener or proprietor of a nursery or market garden business, but by
the end of the century, due to the demands of the profession, it was only educated
apprentice gardeners, or very determined men who could reasonably expect to become
successful, especially as their career structure became more exclusive.

Head gardeners were very influential in the region's horticulture encouraging garden
owners to experiment with different fruit and vegetables and in educating the lower
classes in the importance of growing a wider range of produce in allotment and kitchen
gardens. In much the same way that Darwin changed the thinking about heredity and the
animal kingdom, a select group of head gardeners changed our knowledge of plants,
their habits and requirements, through years of experimentation and observation. They
also changed the way that plants were traditionally grown.

Conclusion

302

It is impossible to talk about gardeners without considering the horticultural industry as
a whole. Each branch of the profession was interdependent, supplying and sharing plant
material, men and expertise. Men trained in one area and worked in another. Head
gardeners ran their own nurseries. Nurserymen employed their own private gardeners.
Those who worked in Devon at the same time would have known each other or of each
others achievements and formed an amorphous network. This led to a conflict between
competition and co-operation.

The effect of the Exeter nurseries on the gardens of their day should not be
underestimated. It has long been known that they supplied all the more important
gardens in the county, firstly with trees for plantations and later with a large variety of
plants and seeds. This study has now shown that many nurseries had a symbiotic
relationship with their customers, frequently renting their land and purchasing peat from
their wealthy patrons. The Veitch family and their employees, especially F. W. Meyer,
who became famous for his rock gardens, have left their legacies across the county, with
a large input into the design of many of its gardens, parks and cemeteries. They also had
an important role in the training of many of the county's head gardeners.

John Harvey began the study of Exeter nurserymen in the 1970s, especially those of the
eighteenth century, but was reticent about nurserymen based in Plymouth and
elsewhere. 14 Later studies of the Veitch nurseries also ignore the influence and
connections of a host of other lesser known businesses. This research has highlighted
the importance of two Plymouth nurseries, Ponteys and Rendles, who supplied the west
of the county and Cornwall, and who were responsible for bringing the study of botany
to the masses through their botanic gardens, for supply of tools and equipment, for
trialling plants for industry and the development of hot-house heating systems. 15 These
men were known about nationally during the nineteenth century, but their businesses
have never been the subj ect of study. The work and products of the smaller nurseries,
and the majority of market gardens, fare even worse being, for the most part, totally
forgotten.

This study has sought to fill gaps in the meagre knowledge of the role of market
gardeners. Many were often little more than small-holders so were considered
subservient to farmers who were thought of as respectable yeomen. They were however,
mostly independent and self-sufficient. The efficient use of small plots of land with

Conclusion

303

intensive production methods ensured a good profit which allowed them to compete
strongly with nurserymen, so much so that boundaries between the two professions
became blurred. Some market gardeners became nurserymen, others like the Sclaters in
Exeter were known as both nurserymen and market gardeners. 16 Market gardeners
became successful as urbanisation created a demand for good quality produce sold
locally especially where the middle-classes used their limited space to concentrate on
ornamental rather than productive gardens. Market gardening was often a secondary
occupation for miners. This meant that gardens were frequently based in areas where
there had previously been a thriving mining industry such as Combe Martin and Bere
Ferrers.

Because of the large number of gardeners looked at in this study, of necessity, not every
aspect of a gardener's career has been fully investigated. More work needs to be done
on the relationship between head gardeners and their employers, many of whom were
competent amateur gardeners themselves. The contribution made by head gardeners to
developing individual species within the county has only been briefly touched upon.
Due to lack of space and time, little work has been done on a comparison with
gardeners elsewhere, either within Britain or across the world, such as those who
worked in Europe, America, India and Australia. However, this research has opened up
areas of discussion on the similarities and differences within the horticultural industry,
although there is scope for further and more detailed work of the commercial industry
within the county. Although the large number of nurserymen and market gardeners who
worked in the county during the nineteenth century has been highlighted; apart from
those who worked in Exeter, most have been forgotten. The links of working gardeners
with smallholders and allotment tenants is another area which should be considered, as
would further work on the effects of competition between all branches of the
commercial horticultural industry.

From the middle of the nineteenth century to 1914 was the period that saw the rise of
professionalism within the gardening industry in response to the demand for
knowledgeable men by wealthy garden owners. However, the First World War showed
private gardeners a different way of life and taught them new skills; many were not
prepared to return to the service industry. By the end of the war there was no longer the
need for such large numbers of career gardeners, nor, with the loss of so many men
during the war, an availability of garden labourers. 17 Estates were broken up and sold,

Conclusion 304

leisure time increased, gardens became smaller. More people undertook their own
gardening helped by modern equipment. Over the next century, garden owners and
gardens evolved to what we know today. Working head gardeners today may receive
better financial rewards and terms of employment than in the nineteenth century, but
few are held in such high esteem. It has been the commercial gardeners, the nurseries
and some market gardens which have survived throughout the twentieth century and
evolved into the garden centres and automated market gardens of today.

1 Jeremy Burchardt, Paradise Lost: Rural Idyll and Social Change in England since 1800 (London, 2002),
3.

2 Toby Musgrave, The Head Gardeners: Forgotten Heroes of Horticulture (London, 2007), Chapter 8;
Shirley Heriz-Smith, < The Veitch Nurseries of Killerton and Exeter, Part 1, c!780 to 1863 Garden
History 16:1 (1988), 41-57;'James Veitch & Sons of Exeter and Chelsea, Part 2, 1853-1870', Garden
History 16:2 (1988), 135-153; Sue Shephard, Seeds of Fortune: A Gardening Dynasty (London, 2003);
David C. Stuart, Georgian Gardens (London, 1979), 149.

3 Arthur Hooper, Life in the Gardeners ' Bothy (Suffolk, 2000)

A Harold Perkin, The Origins of Modern English Society 1780-1880 (London, 1969),255.

Gardener's Chronicle 3.02.1855, 65.
6 The Gardener's Magazine 13.01.1872, 13-14.

7 J. C. Loudon, 'Catalogue of Books for a Garden Library*, Gardener's Magazine 2 (1827), 108-20', 109,
110.

See for example, Stafford Technical School, Swanley Horticultural College and Chelmsford County
Technical Laboratory,; also in Devon The Devon School of Gardening at Ivybridge.

9 DRO 3610Z and add/1; DRO 1508M Devon Estate/Labour Book VI.

10 The Garden 8.03.1890, 237.

11 DRO 3610Z and add/1-2.

Robert Thompson, The Gardener's Assistant: A Practical and Scientific Exposition of the Art of
Gardening in all its Branches New edn William Watson, ed., (London, 1900), 215.

13 North Devon Record Office (NDRO) B 1 70 add/9 1 .

John Harvey, Early Gardening Catalogues (London, 1972); Early Nurserymen: with reprints c
Documents and Lists (London, 1974).

15 Gardener's Magazine (GM) 19 (1843), 505; J. C. Loudon, Arboretum et fruiticetum britannum or The
trees and shrubs of Britain (London, 1854), 2328.

16 See also Henry Fouracre at Heavitree James Bulley at Dawlish and John Andrews of Plymouth

17 DRO 3610Z and add/1-4

Conclusion

305

GLOSSARY

Money

4 farthings QAd ) =1 penny

2 halfpennies (?Ad) = 1 penny

1 2 pence ( 1 2d) =1 shilling

20 shillings (20s) = £1

1 guinea =£1. Is

Shillings and pence decimal coinage equivalents

Id l Ap I Is 7d 8p

2d lp Is 8d 8 l / 2 p

3d lp Is 9d 9p

4d l»/ 2 p Is lOd 9p

5d 2p Is lid 9»/ 2 p

6d 2fcp 2s 10p

7d 3p 2s 6d 12!/ 2 p

8d 3V 2 p 2s 9d 14p

9d 4p 3s 15p

lOd 4p 4s 20p

lid VAp 5s 25p

Is 5p 7s 6d 37^

Is Id 5»/ 2 p 10s 50p

Is 2d 6p 12s 60p

Is 3d 6p 15s 75p

ls4d 6'/ 2 p 18s 90p

Is 5d 7p 20s £1

ls6d VA? I £1 5s Od £1.25p

Linear Measure

40 rods, poles or perches = 1 rood
4 rood = 1 acre

1 acre = 4,840 sq. yd = 0.405 hectare

Capacity Measure

lpint =20 fluid oz =0.568 litre

1 quart = 2 pints = 1.136 litres

1 gallon = 4 quarts (8 pints) = 4.546 litres

1 peck = 2 gallons = 9.092 litres

1 bushel = 4 pecks = 3 6.4 litres

306

APPENDIX I

The Gardener Database

Material from the gardener database has been gathered from a wide variety of sources,
but the majority of the information has come from the census enumerators' returns from
1841 to 1901. Other sources include estate records, contemporary newspapers and
journals especially Trewman's Exeter Flying Post. Devon Directories have also been
useful for cross referencing. These include Kelly 's and White 9 s.

Headings used in Database

Last name: spelling standardised where possible.
Forename:

Other names: (included here are different spellings and alternative names used).
Sex: male or female.

Age: to help with identification of individuals with similar names. First

column contains age when first noted as gardener. Second column
includes later ages from census or other source.

Parish 1 : first parish where gardener worked.

Parish 2: later parishes where gardener worked including out of county areas.
Occupation: first column for text, second and third column coded for ease of sorting
Notes 1: for information of particular relationships of interest or house/nursery

where gardener worked.

Parents occupations:

County of Birth: includes county or country.
Parish of Birth:

Dates: Earliest and latest, including, where known, date of death.

Wives: Name, age, parish of birth, maiden name if known.
Wives Occupation:

Children: Name, age, place of birth, later occupations if known.
Notes 2: Includes addresses, references, comments.

307

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